A general view shows a Syrian pro-government forces member walking past damaged buildings in the eastern city of Deir Ezzor on November 4, 2017. Syrian and allied forces converged on holdout Islamic State group fighters in the Syrian border town of Albu Kamal, the jihadists' very last urban bastion following a string of losses. On November 3, Russian-backed Syrian regime forces took full control of Deir Ezzor, which was the last city where IS still had a presence after being expelled from Hawija and Raqa last month

A general view shows a Syrian pro-government forces member walking past damaged buildings in the eastern city of Deir Ezzor on November 4, 2017. (File photo)

Syria govt loyalists clash with Kurdish-led forces, leaving 25 dead in two days

Syria

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AFP

Published: 26 September ,2023: 12:04 PM GST Updated: 26 September ,2023: 01:30 PM GST

Fighters loyal to the Syrian government have clashed with Kurdish-led forces in a mainly Arab district of eastern Syria, leaving 25 people dead in two days, a war monitor said Tuesday.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who are backed by Washington, said they had “driven out the regime gunmen who had infiltrated the Dheiban area” of Deir Ezzor province in the clashes which erupted on Monday.

Earlier this month, the same area saw 10 days of clashes between the SDF and armed Arab tribesmen in which 90 people were killed.

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Britain-based monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the latest clashes erupted when pro-government fighters crossed the Euphrates River, which separates pro-government forces in southwestern Deir Ezzor from the SDF in the northeast.

It said 21 of the dead were Damascus loyalists and three were SDF fighters. A woman was also killed.

The SDF said the loyalist fighters had crossed the Euphrates “under cover of an indiscriminate bombardment” of its positions.

The clashes earlier this month erupted after the SDF’s arrest of a local Arab military commander who had previously been an ally.

The SDF said at the time that it had driven out the detained commander's supporters among the area’s Arab tribes.

It insisted the dispute was an entirely local one and not the result of any wider rift between its Kurdish-dominated forces and the Arab communities which form a majority in some areas under its control.

According to the Observatory, which has a wide network of sources inside Syria, some of the Arab fighters who fled to government-held territory after the clashes earlier this month took part in this week’s assault.

The SDF was Washington’s main Syrian ally in its fightback against ISIS, which culminated in the extremists’ defeat in their last Syrian foothold on the left bank of the Euphrates in 2019. It continues to enjoy US support.

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