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Rami Abdul-Rahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the pro-government gunmen in Sheikh Maksoud are local Syrians known as "Mardiliyeh"
-- a clan known to support the regime. The reports could not be independently confirmed because the government has imposed tight restrictions on the media. In July, government forces withdrew from Kurdish areas in northeastern Syria and were quickly replaced by Kurdish fighters from the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, or PYD. The group is affiliated with the PKK, rebels fighting for autonomy in the Kurdish-dominated southeast region of Turkey. The PKK maintains bases in northern Iraq from where they launch hit-and-run attacks on Turkish targets. Government forces also stormed several tense neighborhoods in the Syrian capital, Damascus, activists said. Troops raided homes looking for activists in Barzeh, Jobar and Qaboun, according to the Observatory and the Local Coordination Committees. Both groups also reported some fighting between rebels and troops in and near the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk. When Syria's unrest began, the country's half-million Palestinians at first struggled to stay on the sidelines. But in recent months, young Palestinian refugees
-- enraged by mounting violence and moved by Arab Spring calls for greater freedoms
-- have been taking to the streets and even joining the rebels.
[Associated
Press;
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