BEIRU: US-backed militias said they captured a major oil field in Deir Ezzor province on Sunday, pressing their offensive against Daesh fighters in eastern Syria.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said they gained control of Al-Omar oil field, one of Syria’s largest, on the eastern bank of the Euphrates river.
With air strikes and special forces from the US-led coalition, the SDF has been battling Daesh in oil-rich Deir Ezzor, bordering Iraq. The SDF alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias has been focused on territory east of the river, which bisects the province.
The Syrian army, with Russian air power and Iran-backed militias, has been waging its own separate offensive against Daesh militants, mostly to the west of the river.
The US-led coalition and the Russian military have been holding deconfliction meetings — to prevent clashes between planes and troops — though the offensives have sometimes come into conflict.
Al-Omar oil field lies some 10 kilometers north of the town of Al-Mayadin, which government forces and their allies took earlier this month.
![]()
US-backed militias seize key oil field in east Syria — SDF
US-backed militias seize key oil field in east Syria — SDF
Trump tells Hamas to proceed with ‘full and immediate’ disarmament
WEST PALM BEACH: US President Donald Trump on Sunday urged Hamas to move forward with disarmament under his plan for postwar Gaza, and said members of his so-called “Board of Peace” had pledged $5 billion to the Palestinian territory’s reconstruction.
“Very importantly, Hamas must uphold its commitment to Full and Immediate Demilitarization,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform, ahead of a February 19 meeting of the board in Washington.
Disarmament is a key part in the second phase of the US-brokered ceasefire plan sealed in October between Israel and the Palestinian militant group to end the war triggered by Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023.
The United Nations endorsed the plan in November.
The second phase stipulates that Israeli forces gradually withdraw from Gaza and Hamas should disarm, with an international stabilization force deployed to ensure security.
Hamas has repeatedly said that disarmament is a red line, although it has indicated it could consider handing over its weapons to a future Palestinian governing authority.
Both sides accuse each other daily of ceasefire violations.
Although originally intended to oversee Gaza’s rebuilding, the charter for the “Board of Peace” does not seem to limit its role to the Palestinian territory.
“The Board of Peace has unlimited potential,” Trump said Sunday in his post.
After an initial meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, the board is due to meet Thursday in the US capital.
Countries have been asked to pay $1 billion for permanent membership of the board, and the invitation for Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country invaded Ukraine in 2022, has drawn criticism.
Key US allies including France and Britain have expressed doubts.
Trump said the $5 billion in pledges by member states would be formally announced then, and that members also “have committed thousands of personnel to the International Stabilization Force and Local Police to maintain Security and Peace for Gazans.”
Trump has said the organization will work “in conjunction” with the United Nations.
“The Board of Peace will prove to be the most consequential International Body in History,” he said.
Under the ceasefire plan, a Palestinian technocratic committee has also been set up with a goal of taking over governance in the battered Gaza Strip.
“Very importantly, Hamas must uphold its commitment to Full and Immediate Demilitarization,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform, ahead of a February 19 meeting of the board in Washington.
Disarmament is a key part in the second phase of the US-brokered ceasefire plan sealed in October between Israel and the Palestinian militant group to end the war triggered by Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023.
The United Nations endorsed the plan in November.
The second phase stipulates that Israeli forces gradually withdraw from Gaza and Hamas should disarm, with an international stabilization force deployed to ensure security.
Hamas has repeatedly said that disarmament is a red line, although it has indicated it could consider handing over its weapons to a future Palestinian governing authority.
Both sides accuse each other daily of ceasefire violations.
Although originally intended to oversee Gaza’s rebuilding, the charter for the “Board of Peace” does not seem to limit its role to the Palestinian territory.
“The Board of Peace has unlimited potential,” Trump said Sunday in his post.
After an initial meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, the board is due to meet Thursday in the US capital.
Countries have been asked to pay $1 billion for permanent membership of the board, and the invitation for Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country invaded Ukraine in 2022, has drawn criticism.
Key US allies including France and Britain have expressed doubts.
Trump said the $5 billion in pledges by member states would be formally announced then, and that members also “have committed thousands of personnel to the International Stabilization Force and Local Police to maintain Security and Peace for Gazans.”
Trump has said the organization will work “in conjunction” with the United Nations.
“The Board of Peace will prove to be the most consequential International Body in History,” he said.
Under the ceasefire plan, a Palestinian technocratic committee has also been set up with a goal of taking over governance in the battered Gaza Strip.
Latest updates
Recommended
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.