Click to see full-size image. Source: the Hawar News Agency.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) arrested the leader of its largest Arab faction, the Deir Ezzor Military Council (DMC), late on August 27, provoking clashes with Arab tribes in the eastern Syrian governorate.
DMC leader, Rashid Abu Khawla, was reportedly invited by the SDF to an important meeting at a key base in the governorate of al-Hasakah along with other senior commanders of the council, only to be arrested.
The SDF didn’t acknowledge the arrest of Abu Khwala. However, around the same time as the arrest, the group announced that it had launched a large-scale security operation against ISIS cells in its areas in Deir Ezzor in cooperation with its main backer, the United States-led coalition.
In response to the arrest, several Arab tribes in Deir Ezzor amassed their fighters and launched an attack against the SDF in an attempt to expel the group from the eastern and southeastern countryside of the governorate.
Heavy clashes were reported in the towns and villages of Dhiban, al-Hawaij, al-Tayyana, al-Shanan, al-Izbah, al-Shuhail and al-Basira, with most of them falling into the hands of Arab tribesmen.
According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the clashes in Deir Ezzor have claimed the lives of 19 tribesmen, six fighters of the SDF and three civilians as of August 30.
The U.S.-led coalition, which maintains two bases at the Conoco gas plant and al-Omar oil fields in the eastern and southern Deir Ezzor countryside, has not yet commented on the arrest of Abu Khwala or the SDF’s ongoing operation in the DMC’s areas of influence.
Abu Khwala had a criminal record before the war broke out in Syria. Early on in the war, he formed a rebel group and fought against government forces. When ISIS rose to dominance in Deir Ezzor, he joined the terrorist group and became one of its commanders. Later however, he defected when his brother was executed by the group. After joining the SDF, the leader became known for his criminal activities, including oil and drug trafficking, as well as for his very close links to both the U.S.-led coalition and ISIS.
Tensions between the SDF and the DMC began around two months ago, when the first began to expand its influence in Deir Ezzor by deploying forces and replacing local Arab officials with Kurds.
All in all, power and money appear to be the main reasons behind the conflict between the two sides, which is causing unprecedented ethnic tensions in eastern and northern Syria. While the move against the DMC could grant the SDF better control of Deir Ezzor’s lucrative oil and gas fields, it could also spark a dangerous ethnic conflict.
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banda hlupákov sa hluší za záujmy darebáckeho štátu usa. kedy sa svet konečne poučí?
fucking kurds, can’t trust them for a single second
its a onther way around mr and mrs moron. his has as that since they took raqqa and stp later oven are forced too all east of de al zoor-
both has high crime rates. the arabic fraction seemes be to bumber ones.
es wird aller höchste zeit, dass recep tayyip erdoğan den kurdenterror in syrien und der türkei endlich beendet!
very good joke. it follow the turkish inflation well.