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DAMASCUS, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Efforts to defuse the tension between Kurdish fighters and Syrian government troops are underway in Syria's northeastern province of Hasakah, which has seen violent confrontations between both parties over the past few days, a source in the city told Xinhua Saturday.
Tension started earlier this week, when both the Syrian National Defense Forces (NDF), a paramilitary force backing the Syrian army, and the Kurdish police, known as Assayish, arrested members of each other.
As tension grew bigger, the Kurdish militias demanded the dissolve of the NDF in Hasakah, a request denied by the Syrian army.
Later on, the Assayish started shelling NDF positions inside Hasakah, prompting the Syrian army to respond with airstrikes for the first time, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
He said the Kurdish forces also demanded to control part of the al-Nashwa neighborhood in the city. They also attempted to close off the routes used by the Syrian army in and out of the city, according to the source.
The Assayish and the powerful People Protection Units (YPG) said they will respond to the attacks of the Syrian forces, unleashing wide-scale offensives on the NDF positions inside the city of Hasakah.
The source said the Kurds couldn't advance in government-controlled areas, contrary to their claims that they have achieved that.
The Syrian artillery and airstrikes responded to the attempts of the Kurds to advance, he added.
The Russians may have a role in the mediation that are taking place to release the pressure and settle the situation in Hasakah, said the source.
He added that 80 percent of the people of Hasakah have fled their homes to areas in the countryside of that province as a result of the latest confrontation.
The Syrian airstrikes were reportedly the first to hit Kurdish positions in Hasakah since the beginning of the crisis.
The strikes apparently came in response to the perceived Kurdish aspiration to carve out their own state in northern Syria.
Previous tension occurred between the Syrian forces and the Kurds, but both parties contained the situation to avoid further confrontations.
The YPG issued a statement Thursday, confirming the airstrikes and promising retaliation against the government forces.
The YPG said the Syrian warplanes "violently" shelled areas in the province of Hasakah on Thursday, as well as positions of the Kurdish security forces, known as Assayish, in that area, causing a state of "panic" among the people there.
It said the airstrikes were coupled by shelling from heavy artillery and mortar shells, leaving tens of civilians either dead or wounded.
The shelling and airstrikes also pushed some people to flee the city, the statement of the YPG added.
It admitted that previous confrontations and shelling between the Assayish and the Syrian forces had taken place in the past, but the Syrian air force didn't carry as many airstrikes as it did on Thursday.
The YPG claimed that the Syrian airstrikes came to undermine the "sweeping victories" scored by the YPG and its militia called the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against the Islamic State (IS) group.
It continued to charge that the Syrian regime "sees the defeat of the IS as a defeat for itself because they (regime forces) are still counting on the IS to achieve what is left of their dirty scheme."
"This step by the regime is like committing suicide," the statement added.
"We will not stand silent about these brutal and flagrant attacks that target our people, who we will stand firmly to protect," the statement concluded.
The statement is the latest escalation of the Kurdish militant group, which has controlled much of al-Hasakah province over the past five years.
The SDF has also achieved several victories against the IS with the help of the U.S.-led airstrikes in the northern province of Aleppo, the latest of which was driving the terror group out of its last major stronghold in the town of Manbej near Turkey.
The YPG and other Kurdish militant groups have been assuming positions in Hasakah since 2012.
At the time, reports emerged about a tacit agreement between the Kurds and the Syrian government.
Even though many Kurdish figures denied it, but it's widely believed that the Kurds are planning to carve out a piece in northern Syria with heavy Kurdish weight as their autonomous state.
