Syrian regime besieges commander of allied militia in Hasakah

Syrian regime forces have surrounded the home of the commander of one of its own allied militias in Hasakah in northeastern Syria and taken control of the militia’s headquarters.

The regime moved against Abdul Qader Hammo, who leads the National Defence Forces (NDF) militia in Hasakah, after he sparked tensions with the local al-Jabour tribe and following Russian pressure.

It previously sent a security delegation from Damascus to Hasakah to investigate incidents Hammo was involved in.

The delegation decided to dismiss Hammo, place him under house arrest and curtail his activities in Hasakah province.

It named Samer Ismail, who previously commanded NDF forces in Qamishli, as his replacement.

Most of Hasakah city and province is under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) but the Assad regime still occupies an area in Hasakah city centre known as the “security box”.

 Last August, Hammo allegedly attacked an important personality of the Al-Jabour tribe, Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Meslet, sparking a feud with the tribe, who threatened to storm the NDF headquarters in the “security box”.

The NDF militia was formed by the Assad regime in 2012, following the outbreak of the Syrian uprising against its rule.

It grew out of the notorious shabeeha gangs who attacked protesters and activists at the beginning of the 2011 Syrian revolution and has always been close to the regime’s ally Iran.

General Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US airstrike near Baghdad in 2020, played a key role in its formation.