As tension among Turkish-backed “national army” factions is going on in Serekaniye (Ras al-Ain) city and its countryside, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported night clashes with heavy machine guns and RPGs between members of “Al-Hamza Division” on one handi and dissident members of “Al-Hamza Division,” members of “Ahrar Al-Sharqiya and “20th Division” on the other, in Tel Halaf and checkpoint of Asfar Najjar south-west of Ras Al-Ain and in the city just after midnight of Tuesday.

Yesterday, SOHR reported that internal disputes between “Al-Hamza Division-20th Division-Sultan Murad-Shohadaa Badr Brigade” operating under the banner of “National Army” had recently escalated unprecedentedly in Serekaniye city and its countryside.

According to SOHR sources, an internal dispute was going on for nearly a week within Al-Hamza Division. On March 21, a member of Al-Hamzah Division was shot dead by other members of the same faction at Al-Aziziyah checkpoint in Serekaniye.

According to Syrian Observatory sources, the disputes and fighting were not confined to “Al-Hamza Division,” but the infighting and disputes among all military forces of “20th Division – Sultan Murad – Shohadaa Badr Brigade” escalated in Serekaniye and its villages have escalated.

“These internal disputes came as part of a struggle to impose control over the region. It is worth noting that Turkish forces have not intervened in any clashes so far. All the military forces mobilised and deployed their fighters to attack each other. According to reliable sources, the internal disputes are over sharing of levies, profits and routes used for people smuggling into Turkey and smuggling fuel and foodstuffs into and out of SDF-controlled areas,” SOHR stated.

The observatory noted that commanders of Turkish-backed factions and intelligence had deliberately reduced the amount of logistic, military and food supplies and paid lower salaries to some groups compared to others in order to exert pressure on them to join specific factions and groups that received the most support and supply by Turkish forces.

On March 12, SOHR reported that members of Shuhada Badr and Al-Hamzat expelled Al-Qua’qa’ Division from Al-Mukhtala village after besieging the village for 48 hours. This came after Al-Qua’qa’ Division announced its split from Shuhada Badr following the reduction of logistical and military support, while the dispute between the two sides extended to other villages.

On March 9, SOHR activists monitored clashes with machineguns between Turkish-backed factions and Al-Hamza Division, with the participation of Al-Sharqiyah and the 20th Division in Al-Safh village in the countryside of Serekaniye, following disputes over a military position, which left several members injured, meanwhile members of Al-Hamza Division evacuated the village.

Moreover, militiamen assaulted and beat a woman for “covering up for fugitives from Al-Hamza Division.”

On the other hand, displaced people from Deir ez-Zor clashed with Al-Hamza Division with machineguns and RPGs in residential neighbourhoods in Serekaniye city, which ignited a state of panic among the city’s residents, SOHR added.