Violent clashes are taking place between armed groups affiliated with the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in cities and towns in the countryside of Deir ez-Zor, eastern Syria, due to the arrests of leaders of one of the groups, according to the Syrian official media.
Today (Monday), the Syrian News Agency (SANA) said, "The cities and towns of Deir ez-Zor countryside, which are controlled by the US-backed (Qasd) militia, are witnessing violent and continuous clashes as a result of the internal fighting between the militia factions and the militants of the so-called Deir ez-Zor Military Council affiliated with the militia. ".
She explained that the clashes broke out "against the arrest of the so-called leader of the Deir ez-Zor Military Council, Ahmed al-Khabil Abu Khawla, and a number of the council's leaders by the militants of the (Qasd) militia and the American occupation after they were lured to one of the American occupation's bases in al-Hasakah" in northeastern Syria.
The agency quoted local sources as saying that the clashes took place in several cities and towns and resulted in "deaths and injuries on both sides", and coincided with the blocking of main roads and streets amid a state of tension and security chaos pervading the countryside of Deir ez-Zor province.
In the context, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed today the killing of three members of the Deir ez-Zor Military Council in armed clashes with the commandos of the Syrian Democratic Forces during the past hours in the village of Al-Rabidah in the northern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, amid military alert between the two parties, while tension remains. established in the region.
The Syrian Observatory, which relies on a network of activists on the ground, indicated that a checkpoint of the Internal Security Forces (Asayish) was targeted with RPGs, coming from members of the Deir ez-Zor Military Council, without information on casualties.
The city of Al-Shaddadi in the southern countryside of Al-Hasakah and the town of Al-Hol also witnessed a curfew and prevented people from leaving their homes, in conjunction with the ongoing tension between the two parties, according to the Observatory.
The Observatory stated that military and security forces carried out a campaign of arrests, yesterday evening, of leaders of the Deir Ezzor Military Council in the city of Hasakah.
