02 September 2023; MEMO: Arab tribal militants liberated 24 villages from under the control of the PKK/YPG organisation in the Deir Ez-Zur governorate, eastern Syria.
The armed clashes broke out five days ago after the organisation arrested Ahmed Al-Khubail, known as “Abu Khawla”, the leader of the so-called Deir Ez-Zur Military Council, and intensity increased as new Arab tribes joined the conflict.
Local sources reported to Anadolu Agency that Arab tribal militants liberated the villages of Al-Sha’fah, Al-Hajin, Al-Buhaira, Gharanij, Abu Hamam, Abu Hardoub, Al-Jardhi Al-Sharqi, Al-Sweidan, Daranj, Al-Shanan, Al-Tayyana, Dhiban, Hawaij Dhiban, Al-Shahil Sharqi, Gharbi, Al-Raz, Al-Khashan, Al-Basira, Jdeidet Bakara, Al-Hariza, Bashram, Sobha and Al-Ezbah, located east and southeast of the governorate, during the two days following violent clashes.
Clashes continue between the tribes and members of the PKK/YPG in the areas adjacent to the Euphrates River east and southeast of Deir Ez-Zur.
The PKK/YPG organisation continues to send reinforcements to Deir Ez-Zur from the Hasakah and Raqqa governorates, which are under its occupation.
Deir Ez-Zur’s population, which the organisation controlled under the pretext of “fighting Daesh” with the support of the US army, is 100 per cent Arab.
The organisation provides revenues by illegally selling the oil it obtains from the oil wells it seized in the region to the Syrian government, bypassing US sanctions. This money is used to finance its activities, depriving the region’s residents of services and aid.
The tension between the two sides began after the Military Council, led by Al-Khubail, feared that the organisation, with US support, would replace it with the Al-Sanadid military group under the umbrella of the PKK.
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As a result, the Military Council opposed the organisation’s transfer of members from the Al-Sanadid group to the east of the Euphrates River in Deir Ez-Zur.
Clashes broke out between members of the Deir Ezzor Military Council and the so-called “military police” affiliated with the PKK/YPG on 25 July due to this dispute.
The Military Council includes members of the Al-Aqeedat, Al-Busaraya and Al-Baqara Arab tribes in the east of the Euphrates in the Deir Ez-Zur governorate, while the Shammar clan forms the backbone of the Al-Sanadid group. Both groups have worked over the past years under the organisation’s umbrella.
According to local sources, the Military Council members are around 4,000, while the number of Al-Sanadid members ranges between 2,000 and 3,000.
