The Syrian Democratic Forces, primarily composed of Kurdish fighters, announced today, Wednesday, the "end of military operations" in Deir Ezzor, eastern Syria, which was the last town where local Arab fighters were stationed, following a week of clashes that resulted in dozens of deaths.
Last week, clashes erupted in several villages in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a coalition of Kurdish and Arab factions backed by the United States, ousted their commander in the region, Ahmad al-Khabeel, accusing him of corruption. This led local Arab fighters to carry out attacks that quickly escalated into confrontations with the SDF, which imposed a curfew in the area on Saturday and Sunday. The SDF declared the situation resolved in most villages and brought in forces to Deir Ezzor on Tuesday.
Farhad Shami, a spokesman for the SDF, informed AFP today about the "end of military operations in Deir Ezzor and the commencement of house-to-house searches for armed individuals." He added that the SDF is searching for "armed groups coming from the western bank of the Euphrates River."
The Euphrates River separates the border province of Deir Ezzor with Iraq, which has a majority Arab population and hosts dozens of Arab tribes. Control in the region is shared between the SDF on the eastern bank of the river and the Syrian government forces supported by Iran-aligned factions on the western bank.
The confrontations over the week resulted in the deaths of ninety individuals, most of them fighters, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The SDF described the battle as long and bloody against ISIS, emphasizing that there is no conflict with the Arab tribes. They accused fighters "benefiting" from the detained commander Ahmad al-Khabeel and "mercenary armed groups linked to the regime" of attempting to create "strife" between them and the Arab tribes.
The Kurdish Autonomous Administration and the SDF, which forms its military wing, manage the areas under their control in northern and northeastern Syria through local civil and military councils. The SDF has acted as the spearhead in the fight against ISIS, which they declared defeated in 2019. However, cells of the extremist organization remain active in the desert region of eastern Syria, executing attacks against government forces and Kurdish troops.
