Armed clashes broke out between Arab tribes and what is known as the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in 7 areas in the oil-rich Deir ez-Zor Governorate in eastern Syria, months after they stopped.
Anatolia quoted local sources on Tuesday as saying that the clashes between the clans and the SDF (the backbone of which is the Kurdish People’s Protection Units) took place during the night hours in several areas in the countryside of Deir ez-Zor province bordering Iraq.
The sources indicated that the Arab clans targeted checkpoints, headquarters, and vehicles belonging to the SDF in the villages and towns of Al-Shahil, Dhiban, Al-Kubar, Al-Jardhi, Hawaij, Sayjan, and Al-Basira in the Deir ez-Zor countryside.
The sources did not provide statistics for those killed or wounded on both sides during the aforementioned clashes.
Violent battles
In August last year, the Arab tribes fought violent battles against the SDF in Deir ez-Zor, before the circle of clashes expanded and extended to other governorates in northeastern Syria.
After weeks of confrontations, the tribes announced their withdrawal from the areas from which they expelled SDF fighters, in order to “prevent civilian casualties,” and agreed to sit at the negotiating table with the American forces that played the role of mediator in the region, so that the confrontations stopped almost completely.
Control of Deir ez-Zor Governorate – which is divided by the Euphrates River – is shared by forces affiliated with the Syrian regime, supported by Russia and Iranian militias, on the one hand, and the Syrian Democratic Forces, supported by the United States, on the other.
The United States fears destabilization in its areas of influence in eastern Syria, as it controls a number of the largest oil and gas fields in the country, and relies on the Syrian Democratic Forces to control areas in northern and eastern Syria after the expulsion of ISIS fighters from them in 2019.
During the past years, the SDF has faced criticism from the residents of the Arab regions under its control, and accusations of ethnic discrimination have been brought against it because its leaders and backbone are from the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, despite its keenness to appoint leaders from the rest of the components loyal to it.
