The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced recently the end of their main military operations in Deir Ez-Zor province, which led to the killing of 25 of their members, 29 Arab militants and 9 civilians. The SDF statement said that the operation mostly targeted ISIS cells, and accused the Syrian regime's security services of "directing events in another direction." The statement added that the Syrian regime brought armed elements into the villages of Deir Ez-Zor province from the west bank of the Euphrates River and merged them with armed groups affiliated with it under the name of “Clan Army.” The statement accused the Syrian and Turkish regimes of “creating troubles in Syria” and “giving dangerous dimensions to the events, especially in the Deir Ez-Zor region.” A leader in the Deir Ez-Zor Council, which is part of the ranks of the SDF, revealed that their forces took a series of precautionary security measures in order to secure the areas that witnessed intense military confrontations over the past days.
He accused unnamed external parties of “creating a national conflict” in the regions of northeastern Syria, referring to reports that what is happening is a conflict between Arab tribes and Kurds. He continued: “These parties are striving to distort the facts by turning them into a tribal and clan dispute.” He thanked the residents of Deir Ez-Zor, especially the people of the towns of Al-Busayrah, Al-Shahil, and Dhiban, who provided “all the sacrifices and assistance to the fighters of the Deir Ez-Zor Council and the Syrian Democratic Forces.”
At the same time, the Commander-in-Chief of the SDF forces, Mazloum Abdi, revealed the proclamation of a general amnesty, according to which hundreds of local fighters who participated in armed confrontations in eastern Syria were released. However, the amnesty excluded fighters linked to the Syrian government who joined tribal militants, and were arrested in areas under the control of the SDF.
On the other hand, the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs considered that the entry of an American delegation into the northeast of the country and its meeting with the “Syrian Democratic Forces” represented a “flagrant violation” of Syria’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity. The Syrian Arab News Agency quoted the ministry as saying that what it described as “deliberate” interference by the United States in the country’s internal affairs, which aims to “prolong the crisis there and increase the suffering of Syrian people.” Earlier this month, the SDF revealed that a meeting had been held with Ethan Goldrich, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, and Joel Foyle, commander of Operation Inherent Resolve of the International Coalition against ISIS in northeastern Syria.
In the context of the visit, American forces conducted raids over the towns of Al-Shahil and Dhiban, coming from the base of the Al-Omar field, and inspected the military points and security barriers that were set up on the main road linking these towns to the rest of the Deir Ez-Zor countryside on the bed of the northern bank of the Euphrates River.
The Deir Ez-Zor border governorate with Iraq has an Arab majority, in which there are dozens of Arab clans and tribes. Control of this city has been divided, since the beginning of the Syrian war in 2011, between the SDF forces and the International Coalition forces over the eastern bank of the Euphrates, while the Syrian government forces were supported by factions controlled by Tehran, on the West Bank.