- ARAB NEWS
- 03 May 2024
Since 1975
JEDDAH: Fighting between rival militias that has killed at least 90 people in eastern Syria risks the re-emergence of Daesh in the region, analysts warned on Thursday.
The violence began a week ago when Arab tribal fighters rebelled against the Kurdish-led in Syrian Democratic Forces Deir Ezzor last week, the first such uprising since Daesh were driven out more than four years ago.
The terrorists lost their last sliver of land in eastern Syria in 2019, but fugitive cells hiding in the region have continued low-level attacks, killing dozens over the years.
The latest clashes in Deir Ezzor “present an opportunity for Daesh cells that nest in the Euphrates River valley to emerge,” said Myles Caggins, senior fellow at the New Lines Institute, a think tank in Washington.
Spearheaded by the Kurdish YPG and including Arab fighters, the SDF led the fight against Daesh. It governs about a quarter of Syria, including valuable oil fields.
But Arab residents have complained that the Kurdish-led provincial administration in Deir Ezzor discriminates against them and denies them their share of oil wealth.
In an effort to reduce tension, the head of the Syrian Democratic Forces offered on Thursday to meet Arab tribal demands in eastern Syria and fix “mistakes” he said had been made in administering the region.
Commander Mazloum Abdi said he had met tribal leaders and would honor their request to release dozens of local fighters who had been detained as the SDF quelled the unrest. “We have a decision to issue a general amnesty for those involved,” he said. “We already released half who were arrested, and we will release the rest.”
Abdi promised to host a meeting with Arab tribal notables and other representatives from Deir Ezzor to address longstanding grievances from education and the economy to security. “There are gaps, and there were mistakes on the ground,” he said.
Spearheaded by the Kurdish YPG and including Arab fighters, the SDF led the fight against Daesh. It governs about a quarter of Syria, including valuable oil fields.
Abdi pledged to restructure both the civilian council governing the province and the Deir Ezzor Military Council to make them more “representative of all the tribes and components in Deir Ezzor.”
He said: “We are open to all criticisms, we will study them all and we will overcome them … and the result will be the return of SDF with all its components in an even stronger way.”
