Iranian-backed forces massing around Deir Ezzor city.
Several factions of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) have deployed reinforcements in the Syrian governorate of Deir Ezzor, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The first batch of reinforcements, which included military vehicles and ammunition trucks, were deployed near the town of al-Mayadin in the southern Deir Ezzor countryside on July 25. The next day, July 26, a second batch made out mainly of fighters was deployed near the town of al-Bukamal to the south of al-Mayadin, right on the border with Iraq.
The PMU, which is backed by Iran, maintains a large presence in Deir Ezzor in coordination with the Damascus government in order to counter ISIS remnants and guard the Syrian-Iraqi border.
The deployment came amid clashes in the northern, eastern and southeastern countryside of Deir Ezzor between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and its Arab branch in the governorate, the Deir Ezzor Military Council.
The conflict ended on July 26 after the intervention of the United States-led coalition, who brokered an agreement between its two proxies.
In the last few weeks, the SDF amassed a large force in its part of Deir Ezzor and the coalition reinforced its bases in the Conoco gas facility and al-Omar oil fields. Several reports talked about a plan by the coalition to launch an attack with its proxies against the Syrian military and its allies, including Iraqi factions, in the governorate.
The PMU’s decision to deploy reinforcements in Deir Ezzor indicates that Damascus and its allies are taking the threat posed by the coalition very seriously. Still, a confrontation between the two sides may be near.
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