The Deir Ezzor Military Council attacked regime forces’ positions in villages controlled by them east of the Euphrates River.
A leader in the council told Enab Baladi today, Tuesday, December 3rd, that the battle is ongoing with the council elements, and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) did not deploy heavy weaponry or commando units in the Deir Ezzor attack; conversely, there is heavy fire from the artillery and rocket launchers of the regime forces and Iranian militias.
The Deir Ezzor Military Council is affiliated with the SDF, and most of its elements are from the Deir Ezzor province.
A correspondent for Enab Baladi in Deir Ezzor reported that the clashes led to a movement of displacement among the residents.
The Deir Ezzor Military Council aims to expel the regime from seven villages east of the Euphrates that it controls.
The SDF stated in a press release that the operation came as a result of the “serious security situation arising from recent developments in western Syria, particularly in the Badia region, and the existence of serious risks related to the imminent movement of large cells affiliated with the Islamic State group to control unprotected areas, especially in the northern and eastern Deir Ezzor.”
According to the SDF statement, its forces have become “responsible for protecting” the seven villages, and the attack was in response to the calls and pleas of the residents of these villages.
The villages are al-Salhiya, Tabia, Hatla, Khesham, Marrat, Mazloum, and Husseiniya in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor.
These villages are considered a launching point for regime-backed groups to carry out attacks against the SDF, and in the past, the regime has provided artillery cover during some attacks on the area, as the SDF has previously announced.
These attacks have escalated since August 2023, following a spark of security events in Deir Ezzor province, which witnessed clashes between the Deir Ezzor Military Council and the SDF.
This was followed by a tribal uprising against the SDF, which the region is still suffering from today, as a military tribal coalition emerged, unknown in composition and unannounced in loyalty, attacking SDF military posts and points daily. The latter accuses it of receiving support from the Syrian regime and Iran.
Eastern and northern Deir Ezzor countryside experienced armed battles that continued for more than a month between fighters from the Deir Ezzor Military Council supported by Arab tribes on one side against the SDF, focusing on the northern and eastern Deir Ezzor countryside, which ended with the SDF controlling the region.
Clashes renewed on August 7 with an attack launched by Arab Tribal Forces supported by regime forces and Iranian militias against the SDF, which led to the loss of the tribes’ efforts in their uprising and their attempts to achieve their demands.
The clashes also led to the displacement of hundreds of residents, the killing of 25 civilians, and the injury of 34 others, according to United Nations figures.