Senior U.S. officials traveled to Syria’s Deir al Zor province on Sunday to address escalating tensions between Arab tribes and Kurdish rule. The Kurdish YPG militia, which is part of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), has faced a tribal backlash, resulting in clashes and casualties. This uprising poses the most significant challenge to the SDF since their successful expulsion of the Islamic State in parts of northern and eastern Syria in 2019.
The U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Syria, Ethan Goldrich, and Major General Joel B Vowell, who leads the coalition against the Islamic State, met with Arab tribal leaders and SDF commanders. The State Department announced their commitment to “address local grievances” and “de-escalate violence as soon as possible and avoid casualties”.
The recent unrest began after the SDF arrested a renegade Arab commander, leading to an outbreak of violence in towns such as Busayrah and Shuhail situated in the oil-rich region of Arab tribal territory east of the Euphrates River. Initially, Arab tribal fighters managed to drive out the Kurdish-led forces, but the SDF has since regained control.
The presence of U.S. forces in SDF-held areas has hindered the expansion of militias supported by Russia and Iran, who have influence in the western Euphrates River region. SDF officials claim that these militias are exploiting internal divisions to increase their control. According to an SDF spokesman, tribal militias sent by Iran and the Syrian government are causing unrest in northeastern Syria, where a majority of the nearly 900 U.S. troops are stationed.
Arab tribal leaders argue that they have been marginalized economically since the Kurdish-led forces gained control of Syria’s largest oil wells following the defeat of the Islamic State. They also claim that their areas receive less attention compared to Kurdish-majority regions. Sheikh Mahmoud al Jarallah, a tribal leader, expressed their desire to remove the Kurdish forces from all of Deir al Zor and return administration of the area to its original Arab inhabitants.
The SDF’s Kurdish leadership denies allegations of discrimination against the predominantly Arab population, attributing the unrest to threats from remaining Islamic State members and their obstruction of local development. Western diplomats report that the U.S. has advocated for greater involvement of Arab residents in governing SDF-held territories.
(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)
Credit: The Star : News Feed
