Intermittent clashes erupted on the front lines between Syrian army forces and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in eastern Deir ez-Zor province on Saturday night amid heightened security tensions and a state of alert, private sources told Zaman al-Wasl.
The clashes with the YPG-led forces erupted intermittently on the banks of the Euphrates River between the towns of Darnaj and Jisr al-Ashara in the eastern Deir ez-Zor countryside, amid military build-up.
The sources confirmed that the province is witnessing escalating security tensions, with sporadic security incidents recorded, most notably the targeting of a Kurdish military vehicle with machine guns by unknown assailants on the al-Hawi road in the town of Abu Hamam, east of Deir ez-Zor, resulting in casualties among its personnel.
Unknown gunmen also targeted the al-Debs checkpoint, which belongs to the SDF, between the towns of Dhiban and al-Tayyana, east of the province, using an RPG and machine guns.
Despite last March's agreement between the SDF and the Damascus government, Kurdish forces remain evasive, attempting to circumvent integration into the new Syrian army. Kurdish fears are growing with the growing rapprochement between Washington and Damascus, and President Ahmed al-Sharaa's full support for extending state sovereignty across all Syrian territory.
Swathes of north and northeast Syria are controlled by a Kurdish-led administration whose de facto army, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), spearheaded the fight that helped defeat ISIS in Syria in 2019.
Turkey accuses the main component of the SDF, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), of being affiliated with the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) at home, which US considers a “terrorist” group.
Comments About This Article
Please fill the fields below.