On 12 March 2004, a football match in Qamishli between a local Kurdish team and a Sunni Arab team from Deir ez-Zor in Syria's southeast sparked violent clashes between fans of the opposing sides which spilled into the streets of the city.
The Ba'ath Party local office was burned down by the demonstrators, leading to the security forces reacting and killing more than 15 of the rioters and wounding more than 100.