Hundreds of Arab tribesmen in northeast Syria have joined a Russian-backed force that was formed earlier this month, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on December 19.
The London-based monitoring group confirmed that the new force will be deployed between Ras al-Ayn, Qamishli and Tell Tamr in northern al-Hasakah. The force will reportedly assist Syrian Arab Army (SAA) units, which were deployed in the region in the last two months.
Click to see full-size map. Source: (@Suriyakmaps) on Twitter.
Previous reports revealed that the new local force will be under the direct command of Russia, which will also provide training, arming and logistics.
The force, whose name is yet to be revealed, will reportedly deploy in positions which were recently evacuated by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Kurdish-led group withdrew at least 30 km away from Turkish border as a part of the Russian-Turkish agreement reached last October.
The formation of this force will help securing northeast Syria while Damascus and the SDF work on a final agreement on the region.
