Since the beginning of this year, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) has accelerated steps to win over the Arab component, which had suffered from marginalization for years, leading to escalating security problems by the end of 2023.

While AANES and its political and military components try to reach an agreement that guarantees its gains with any party, it sought to win over Arab tribes through a series of decisions, the latest being an amnesty law for prisoners whose charges have not been clear for years, issued on July 17 of this year.

AANES’ promises of reform date back to October 2023, following the end of armed clashes with tribal forces in eastern Deir Ezzor. At that time, it held a conference titled “Enhancing Security and Stability Towards Developing and Consolidating Partnership in Deir Ezzor,” promising reform steps.

It presented a set of outcomes consisting of 42 items, most notably the restructuring of local, legislative, executive councils, and municipalities, and the release of detained families in al-Hol camp in eastern al-Hasakah.

On July 22 of this year, after the start of releasing prisoners held by the SDF, its commander Mazloum Abdi said that the effort continues to release families from northeastern Syria residing in al-Hol camp.

Steps towards reform

The ability of AANES to achieve internal reform to avoid the anger of the Arab tribes towards it has always been a topic of discussion, especially as Iran exploited this issue and tried to expand into SDF-controlled areas in eastern Deir Ezzor, taking advantage of the resentment against AANES.

In May, the press secretary of the US Department of Defense (Pentagon), Pat Ryder, talked about how Iran manages its activities by training and influencing proxy groups within its foreign policy framework to expel the United States from the Middle East, specifically mentioning Iran’s activities in eastern Syria.

The regime and Iran support local groups known since last year as the “tribal forces,” led by Ibrahim al-Hafel. These groups conduct attacks on SDF sites, with the regime’s forces often providing cover fire.

On the other hand, the SDF is trying to grant administrative positions to members of the al-Hafel family, relatives of Ibrahim, who was previously co-opted by Iranian and regime militias.

On May 12, the SDF published a photo on Telegram of its commander Mazloum Abdi with individuals dressed in traditional tribal attire from Deir Ezzor, accompanied by the caption, “Prominent figures from the Akidat (al-Hafel family) during their meeting with the General Commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazloum Abdi, last week.”

At that time, the SDF said that the parties exchanged more ideas to improve services and pardon the wanted individuals.

Osama Sheikh Ali, a researcher specializing in northeastern Syria at the Omran Center for Strategic Studies, told Enab Baladi that the latest liberations of detainees and the release of families from al-Hol camp were not new but were previously suggested by the United States through local tribal elders’ mediation.

Given the relatively large numbers of those released in al-Hasakah and Raqqa, the researcher believes that the Autonomous Administration works to showcase its attempts to strengthen the internal front and give a kind of social status to the tribal elders who demanded this “amnesty.”

The researcher attributed the Autonomous Administration’s efforts to strengthen its internal front to the ongoing tensions in Deir Ezzor for about a year and the existing Turkish pressure on normalization with the regime to form an alliance against the US-backed Autonomous Administration project.

Under pressure

AANES today suffers from several pressures, most notably the rapprochement between Turkey and the Syrian regime, operations by the Islamic State organization, the potential US withdrawal from Syria, and other economic and security factors.

Previously, the United States sponsored a reform step on the part of the Autonomous Administration by supporting the restructuring of the Deir Ezzor Military Council, which dissolved after military confrontations with the SDF, supported by the region’s tribes.

Researcher Osama Sheikh Ali ruled out the existence of a single cause for redirecting the Autonomous Administration’s behavior towards internal reform, considering that the collective pressures have caused the Autonomous Administration to move towards reform.

He added that these factors show the Autonomous Administration’s need to achieve societal cohesion in its controlled areas in northeastern Syria, as Mazloum Abdi pointed out on Tuesday, July 23, saying to Hawar News Agency, “The people of the region need to unite to overcome the risks.”

He added, “They are deliberately destroying the resources of the Autonomous Administration so it cannot serve the people. Last year, they targeted our service institutions, causing significant damage. Of course, part of this problem is our management style, but there is also a blockade and attacks, which cause our people to suffer and force them to migrate.”

The researcher sees that if normalization between Turkey and the regime continues and reaches the level of cooperation, the discontented tribal components in northeastern Syria will be one of the regime’s tools.

A marginalized component

The Arab component in the institutions of the Autonomous Administration is represented by loyal Arab personalities who have not met the aspirations of the region’s tribal inhabitants over the years of Kurdish forces’ control.

In light of this marginalization, various areas in Deir Ezzor province have witnessed repeated protests against the SDF and the Autonomous Administration, objecting to the deteriorating living conditions, denouncing the corruption of its institutions, calling for the release of detainees, and enhancing Arab representation in the region’s institutions.

With repeated accusations against it since its establishment in 2016 of being a “separatist” entity seeking to secede a part of Syrian lands, the SDF, through its leader Mahmoud Barkadan, has denied all these accusations, describing them as “malicious.”

In an interview with Hawar News Agency, Barkadan said that the SDF fights in Syria for the “democratization of the country.”

He added that all nationalities and ethnicities of Arabs, Kurds, and Assyrians in Syria enjoy all their rights, which he considered as proof of the SDF’s non-intention to propose a division plan.