DEFENDING KURDISTAN
25 dead as Damascus loyalists clash with Kurdish-led forces: monitorAFP
Tue, September 26, 2023
Map of Syria showing zones of influence for different armed groups as of June 2023, according to UN data.
(Sabrina BLANCHARD)
Fighters loyal to the Syrian government have clashed with Kurdish-led forces in a mainly Arab district of eastern Syria, leaving 25 people dead in two days, a war monitor said Tuesday.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who are backed by Washington, said they had "driven out the regime gunmen who had infiltrated the Dheiban area" of Deir Ezzor province in the gun battles which erupted on Monday.
Earlier this month, the same area saw 10 days of fighting between the SDF and armed Arab tribesmen in which 90 people were killed.
Britain-based monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the latest clashes erupted when pro-government fighters crossed the Euphrates river, which separates pro-government forces in southwestern Deir Ezzor from the SDF in the northeast.
It said 21 of the dead were Damascus loyalists and three were SDF fighters. A woman was also killed.
The SDF said the loyalist fighters had crossed the Euphrates "under cover of an indiscriminate bombardment" of its positions.
The SDF riposted by bombarding the right bank of the river which is controlled by government troops with support from Iran-backed militias, the Observatory said.
The clashes earlier this month erupted after the SDF's arrest in late August of a local Arab military commander who had previously been an ally.
The SDF said at the time that it had driven out the detained commander's supporters among the area's Arab tribes.
It insisted the dispute was an entirely local one and not the result of any wider rift between its Kurdish-dominated forces and the Arab communities which form a majority in some areas under its control.
Washington, which has several hundred troops deployed in SDF-held areas of Deir Ezzor, including in the province's valuable oilfields, deployed mediators to engage with SDF commanders and Arab tribal leaders to try to avert any wider conflict.
The Kurds form a majority in the core areas of SDF control in northeastern and northern Syria. But in several areas which they captured in their US-backed campaign against the Islamic State group (IS), Arabs form the majority.
SDF leader Mazloum Abdi announced after the end of the earlier fighting that he had asked Arab tribal leaders to contact rebel tribesmen and assure them that his forces would grant amnesty to those who had been detained.
According to the Observatory, which has a wide network of sources inside Syria, some of the Arab fighters who fled to government-held territory after the previous clashes took part in this week's assault.
The SDF was Washington's main Syrian ally in its fightback against IS, which culminated in the jihadists' defeat in their last Syrian foothold on the left bank of the Euphrates in 2019.
Civil war erupted in Syria after President Bashar al-Assad's government crushed peaceful protests in 2011.
The conflict has killed more than half a million people and driven half the country's pre-war population from their homes.
US-backed Kurdish forces impose curfew in eastern Syria after new clashes with rival Arab militia
Fighters loyal to the Syrian government have clashed with Kurdish-led forces in a mainly Arab district of eastern Syria, leaving 25 people dead in two days, a war monitor said Tuesday.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who are backed by Washington, said they had "driven out the regime gunmen who had infiltrated the Dheiban area" of Deir Ezzor province in the gun battles which erupted on Monday.
Earlier this month, the same area saw 10 days of fighting between the SDF and armed Arab tribesmen in which 90 people were killed.
Britain-based monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the latest clashes erupted when pro-government fighters crossed the Euphrates river, which separates pro-government forces in southwestern Deir Ezzor from the SDF in the northeast.
It said 21 of the dead were Damascus loyalists and three were SDF fighters. A woman was also killed.
The SDF said the loyalist fighters had crossed the Euphrates "under cover of an indiscriminate bombardment" of its positions.
The SDF riposted by bombarding the right bank of the river which is controlled by government troops with support from Iran-backed militias, the Observatory said.
The clashes earlier this month erupted after the SDF's arrest in late August of a local Arab military commander who had previously been an ally.
The SDF said at the time that it had driven out the detained commander's supporters among the area's Arab tribes.
It insisted the dispute was an entirely local one and not the result of any wider rift between its Kurdish-dominated forces and the Arab communities which form a majority in some areas under its control.
Washington, which has several hundred troops deployed in SDF-held areas of Deir Ezzor, including in the province's valuable oilfields, deployed mediators to engage with SDF commanders and Arab tribal leaders to try to avert any wider conflict.
The Kurds form a majority in the core areas of SDF control in northeastern and northern Syria. But in several areas which they captured in their US-backed campaign against the Islamic State group (IS), Arabs form the majority.
SDF leader Mazloum Abdi announced after the end of the earlier fighting that he had asked Arab tribal leaders to contact rebel tribesmen and assure them that his forces would grant amnesty to those who had been detained.
According to the Observatory, which has a wide network of sources inside Syria, some of the Arab fighters who fled to government-held territory after the previous clashes took part in this week's assault.
The SDF was Washington's main Syrian ally in its fightback against IS, which culminated in the jihadists' defeat in their last Syrian foothold on the left bank of the Euphrates in 2019.
Civil war erupted in Syria after President Bashar al-Assad's government crushed peaceful protests in 2011.
The conflict has killed more than half a million people and driven half the country's pre-war population from their homes.
US-backed Kurdish forces impose curfew in eastern Syria after new clashes with rival Arab militia
KAREEM CHEHAYEB
Updated Mon, September 25, 2023
U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters sit on their armored vehicles, at al-Sabha town in the eastern countryside of Deir el-Zour, Syria, Monday, Sept. 4, 2023. Weeklong clashes between rival U.S.-backed militias in eastern Syria, where hundreds of American troops are deployed, point to dangerous seams in a coalition that has kept on a lid on the defeated Islamic State group for years.
(AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)
BEIRUT (AP) — U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces imposed a curfew after clashes erupted again on Monday in eastern Syria, where their fighters had battled for weeks with rival Arab militiamen, Syrian media and activists reported.
The fighting in a region where hundreds of American troops are deployed has pointed to dangerous seams in a coalition that has kept a lid on the defeated Islamic State group for years.
The reports say the Syrian Democratic Forces imposed the open-ended measure in several towns in Deir el-Zour province, including the town of Ziban, close to the Iraqi border where the Americans are based. Hundreds of U.S. troops have been there since 2015 to help in the fight against the militant Islamic State group. The oil-rich province is home to Syria’s largest oil fields.
Al Mayadeen, a pan-Arab TV station, said several fighters from the Kurdish-led forces were killed after Arab gunmen took over several parts of Ziban on Monday.
The SDF in a statement Monday said the gunmen entered Ziban “under cover of random artillery shelling” from the government-held town of Mayadeen in the province.
“(SDF fighters) have facilitated the movement of civilians to safe zones in neighboring villages, ensuring their safety and preventing the mercenary groups from using them in their terrorist acts ...” the statement added.
Britain-based opposition war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said some of the Arab fighters had crossed from government-held areas.
Local media in the province reported that some Kurdish fighters had fled the area as the clashes intensified. There were no further details.
The Kurdish-led forces have accused the Syrian government of inciting the violence by allowing the rival Arab militiamen to crossing the Euphrates River. The clashes first erupted in late August when two weeks of fighting killed 25 Kurdish fighters, 29 members of Arab tribal groups and gunmen, as well as nine civilians, according to the Syrian Democratic Forces .
The Syrian government of President Bashar Assad in Damascus sees the Kurdish-led forces as secessionist fighters and has denounced their alliance with the United States in the war against IS and their self-ruled enclave in eastern Syria.
Meanwhile, Turkey, which has troops inside Syria, and Turkish-backed oppositions groups in Syria’s northwest, routinely clash with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
BEIRUT (AP) — U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces imposed a curfew after clashes erupted again on Monday in eastern Syria, where their fighters had battled for weeks with rival Arab militiamen, Syrian media and activists reported.
The fighting in a region where hundreds of American troops are deployed has pointed to dangerous seams in a coalition that has kept a lid on the defeated Islamic State group for years.
The reports say the Syrian Democratic Forces imposed the open-ended measure in several towns in Deir el-Zour province, including the town of Ziban, close to the Iraqi border where the Americans are based. Hundreds of U.S. troops have been there since 2015 to help in the fight against the militant Islamic State group. The oil-rich province is home to Syria’s largest oil fields.
Al Mayadeen, a pan-Arab TV station, said several fighters from the Kurdish-led forces were killed after Arab gunmen took over several parts of Ziban on Monday.
The SDF in a statement Monday said the gunmen entered Ziban “under cover of random artillery shelling” from the government-held town of Mayadeen in the province.
“(SDF fighters) have facilitated the movement of civilians to safe zones in neighboring villages, ensuring their safety and preventing the mercenary groups from using them in their terrorist acts ...” the statement added.
Britain-based opposition war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said some of the Arab fighters had crossed from government-held areas.
Local media in the province reported that some Kurdish fighters had fled the area as the clashes intensified. There were no further details.
The Kurdish-led forces have accused the Syrian government of inciting the violence by allowing the rival Arab militiamen to crossing the Euphrates River. The clashes first erupted in late August when two weeks of fighting killed 25 Kurdish fighters, 29 members of Arab tribal groups and gunmen, as well as nine civilians, according to the Syrian Democratic Forces .
The Syrian government of President Bashar Assad in Damascus sees the Kurdish-led forces as secessionist fighters and has denounced their alliance with the United States in the war against IS and their self-ruled enclave in eastern Syria.
Meanwhile, Turkey, which has troops inside Syria, and Turkish-backed oppositions groups in Syria’s northwest, routinely clash with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
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