BEIRUT: The weeklong clashes between rival US-backed militias in eastern Syria, where hundreds of American troops are deployed, point to dangerous seams in the coalition that has kept a lid on the defeated Daesh group for years. That could be an opportunity for the radical group to reemerge.
The violence also points to rising tensions between Kurds who dominate the region and the mainly Arab population, opening the door for Syrian President Bashar Assad and his allies, Russia and Iran, to try to make inroads in an oil-rich territory where they seek to drive out US troops and restore Damascus’ rule.
Eastern Syria has largely been off the world’s radar, particularly in the United States. But the US has had some 900 troops stationed there alongside an unknown number of contractors ever since the defeat of the Daesh group in 2019. The troops, who first arrived eight years ago, work alongside the Syrian Democratic Forces, an umbrella group of militias dominated by Kurdish fighters.
At the same time, a US-supported Kurdish-led administration has governed parts of northern Syria and most of Syria east of the Euphrates River, including key oil fields, with government forces and Iranian-backed militias positioned just across the river on the western bank. The region’s Arabs have roles in both the SDF and the administration but have long resented the Kurdish control.
The clashes involve the Syrian Democratic Forces and an allied faction, the Arab-led Deir Ezzor Military Council. The trigger was the Aug. 27 arrest by the SDF of the council’s commander Ahmad Khbeil, better known as Abu Khawla. The SDF accused Khbeil of criminal activity, corruption and of opening up contacts with the Damascus government and Iranian-backed militias.
Fighting broke out between the SDF and Khbeil’s loyalists, who were then joined by hundreds of Arab tribesmen in battles that spread and left tribesmen in control of several villages outside the city of Deir Ezzor. At least 90 people have been killed and dozens wounded.
Kurdish leaders accuse Iranian-backed militias and the Syrian government of fomenting the violence. Speaking to The Associated Press, SDF spokesman Farhad Shami denied local Arab fighters joined the clashes, saying it was fighters loyal to Damascus who crossed the river.
“Iran and Assad regime want to depict this unrest as a result of an ethnic conflict between Arabs and Kurds,” Elham Ahmad, the leader of the Syrian Democratic Council, the political wing of the SDF, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. Their ultimate aim, she said, was to force US troops to leave.
But some warn the violence reflects local Arab resentment of Kurdish domination. Opposition activists said contacts were underway with tribal leaders to reach a cease-fire.
“This is an unprecedented escalation between SDF and Deir Ezzor residents,” says Omar Abu Layla, a Europe-based activist who heads the Deir Ezzor 24 media outlet, which covers news in the region.
“This is an indication of the bad policy implemented by the SDF and wrong calculations by the Americans,” said Abu Layla. He said the solution could be to name a replacement for Khbeil and give Arabs more influence in local councils.
If the fighting endures, it could deepen Kurdish-Arab rifts. That could open the door for Daesh remnants to attempt a comeback.
The US military has called for an end to the fighting, warning that “distractions (from opposing Daesh) create instability and increase the risk of Daesh resurgence.”
Over the weekend, a meeting was held among SDF figures, tribal leaders and US officials, including Maj. Gen. Joel Vowell, the commander of Operation Inherent Resolve, which oversees US military operations against Daesh, the US Embassy announced. It said they agreed on the “importance of addressing the grievances of residents” in Deir Ezzor, avoiding civilian deaths and the need for de-escalation as soon as possible.
The SDF pushed ahead in their offensive over the weekend, capturing two villages and surrounding the main Arab tribesmen’s stronghold in Diban. SDF chief commander Mazloum Abdi told a local news agency that the US-led coalition helped with aerial support during the offensive, but the US military did not confirm or deny when contacted by The Associated Press.
Daesh once controlled large parts of Iraq and Syria but was defeated after a long, grueling war led by the US and allies including the SDF. The radical group lost its last sliver of land in eastern Syria in 2019, but its fugitive cells hiding in the region have continued low-level attacks, killing dozens over the years.
Myles B. Caggins III, senior fellow at the New Lines Institute, said the clashes “present an opportunity for Daesh cells that nest in the Euphrates River Valley to emerge.”
The violence also could give an opportunity for Damascus and Iran, pushing their demands for the Americans to leave.
The commander of the pro-government Baqir Brigade militia, Khaled Al-Hassan, told an Iranian media outlet that the violence “is a new uprising by Syrians against the American occupation and its militias,” referring to the SDF.
During a recent visit to Iran, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad warned that “American occupation forces should withdraw ... before they are forced to do so.”
In mid-July, dozens of Arab tribesmen and members of the pro-government National Defense Forces held a rally in Deir Ezzor province that was attended by a Russian general.
“The end of American forces will be at the hands of Arab tribesmen who stand behind the Syrian army,” an NDF commander said during the ceremony.
In March, a suspected Iranian-linked drone attack hit a US base, killing a contractor and wounding another, along with five American troops. American warplanes responded with airstrikes on sites used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. President Joe Biden said the US would respond “forcefully” to protect its personnel.
“Iran, Russia, and the Syrian regime have a shared interest in the departure of US forces from Syria,” according to a report released last month by The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank.
Crucial for Tehran, Iran has had a land corridor of allies linking it to the Mediterranean Sea ever since Syrian forces and Iranian-backed militias captured areas along the border with Iraq from Daesh in 2017.
Last week’s clashes came after Lebanese and Arab media outlets reflecting Iran’s point of view claimed that the Americans intended to sever that link by capturing the strategic border town of Boukamal.
The coalition’s commanding general, US Maj. Gen. Matthew McFarlane denied the reports. “The coalition is not preparing for military operations to cut off anybody except Daesh,” he said.
But Iran and its allies say any attempt to close the Iraq-Syria border is a red line.
“I see that closing the gate between Damascus and Baghdad as a declaration of war,” said Syrian political analyst Bassam Abu Abdullah, whose comments usually reflect the government’s point of view.
Fighting between rival US-backed groups in Syria could undermine war against Daesh
https://arab.news/6zqp3
Fighting between rival US-backed groups in Syria could undermine war against Daesh
- The clashes involve the Syrian Democratic Forces and an allied faction, the Arab-led Deir Ezzor Military Council
- Kurdish leaders accuse Iranian-backed militias and the Syrian government of fomenting the violence
UN launches probe into first international staff killed by unidentified strike in Rafah
- Retired Indian army officer Waibhav Anil Kale was on route to the European Hospital in Rafah along with a colleague, who was also injured in the attack
NEW DELHI: The United Nations has launched an investigation into an unidentified strike on a UN car in Rafah on Monday that killed its first international staff in Gaza since Oct. 7, a spokesperson for the UN Secretary General said.
The staff member, a retired Indian Army officer named Waibhav Anil Kale, was working with the UN Department of Safety and Security and was on route to the European Hospital in Rafah along with a colleague, who was also injured in the attack.
Israel has been moving deeper into Rafah in southern Gaza, where more than a million people had sought shelter, and its forces pounded the enclave’s north on Tuesday in some of the fiercest attacks in months.
Israel’s international allies and aid groups have repeatedly warned against a ground incursion into Rafah, where many Palestinians fled, and Israel says four Hamas battalions are holed up. Israel says it must root out the remaining fighters.
In a statement on Monday after Kale’s death, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres reiterated an “urgent appeal for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and for the release of all hostages,” saying the conflict in Gaza was continuing to take a heavy toll “not only on civilians, but also on humanitarian workers.”
Palestinian health authorities say Israel’s ground and air campaign in Gaza since Oct. 7 has killed more than 35,000 people and driven most of the enclave’s 2.3 million people from their homes.
His deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Tuesday the UN has established a fact-finding panel to determine the responsibility for the attack.
“It’s very early in the investigation, and details of the incident are still being verified with the Israeli Defense Force,” he said.
There are 71 international UN staff members in Gaza currently, he said.
In its only comment on the matter yet, India’s mission to the UN confirmed Kale’s identity on Tuesday, saying it was “deeply saddened” by his loss.
Israel, which launched its Gaza operation after an attack on Oct. 7 by Hamas-led gunmen who killed some 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages, according to its tallies, has ordered civilians to evacuate parts of Rafah.
The main United Nations aid agency in Gaza, UNRWA estimates some 450,000 people have fled the city since May 6. More than a million civilians had sought refuge there.
Libya war crimes probe to advance next year: ICC prosecutor
- The Security Council referred the situation in Libya to the ICC in February 2011 following a violent crackdown on unprecedented protests against the regime of Muammar Qaddafi
UNITED NATIONS, United States: The International Criminal Court prosecutor probing war crimes committed in Libya since 2011 announced Monday his plans to complete the investigation phase by the end of 2025.
Presenting his regular report before the United Nations Security Council, Karim Khan said that “strong progress” had been made in the last 18 months, thanks in particular to better cooperation from Libyan authorities.
“Our work is moving forward with increased speed and with a focus on trying to deliver on the legitimate expectations of the council and of the people of Libya,” Khan said.
He added that in the last six months, his team had completed 18 missions in three areas of Libya, collecting more than 800 pieces of evidence including video and audio material.
Khan said he saw announcing a timeline to complete the investigation phase as a “landmark moment” in the case.
“Of course, it’s not going to be easy. It’s going to require cooperation, candor, a ‘can do’ attitude from my office but also from the authorities in Libya,” he added.
“The aim would be to give effect to arrest warrants and to have initial proceedings start before the court in relation to at least one warrant by the end of next year,” Khan said.
The Security Council referred the situation in Libya to the ICC in February 2011 following a violent crackdown on unprecedented protests against the regime of Muammar Qaddafi.
So far, the investigation opened by the court in March 2011 has produced three cases related to crimes against humanity and war crimes, though some proceedings were abandoned after the death of suspects.
An arrest warrant remains in place for Seif Al-Islam Qaddafi, the son of the assassinated Libyan dictator who was killed by rebel forces in October 2011.
Libya has since been plagued by fighting, with power divided between a UN-recognized Tripoli government and a rival administration in the country’s east.
Palestinians rally at historic villages in northern Israel
- The descendants of the 160,000 Palestinians who managed to remain in what became Israel presently number about 1.4 million, around 20 percent of Israel’s population
- Israel has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory
SHEFA-AMR: Thousands of people took part Tuesday in an annual march through the ruins of villages that Palestinians were expelled from during the 1948 war that led to Israel’s creation.
Wrapped in keffiyeh scarves and waving Palestinian flags, men and women rallied through the abandoned villages of Al-Kassayer and Al-Husha — many holding signs with the names of dozens of other demolished villages their families were displaced from.
“Your Independence Day is our catastrophe,” reads the rallying slogan for the protest that took place as Israelis celebrated the 76th anniversary of the proclamation of the State of Israel.
The protest this year was taking place against the backdrop of the ongoing war in Gaza, where fighting between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas has displaced the majority of the population, according to the United Nations.
Among those marching Tuesday was 88-year-old Abdul Rahman Al-Sabah.
He described how members of the Haganah, a Zionist paramilitary group, forced his family out of Al-Kassayer, near the northern city of Haifa, when he was a child.
They “blew up our village, Al-Kassayer, and the village of Al-Husha so that we would not return to them, and they planted mines,” he said, his eyes glistening with tears.
The family was displaced to the nearby town of Shefa-Amr.
“But we continued (going back), my mother and I, and groups from the village, because it was harvest season, and we wanted to live and eat,” he said.
“We had nothing, and whoever was caught by the Israelis was imprisoned.”
Palestinians remember this as the “Nakba,” or catastrophe, when around 760,000 Palestinians fled or were driven from their homes during the war that led to the creation of Israel.
The descendants of the 160,000 Palestinians who managed to remain in what became Israel presently number about 1.4 million, around 20 percent of Israel’s population.
Many of today’s Arab Israelis remain deeply connected to their historic land.
At Tuesday’s march, one man carried a small sign with “Lubya,” the name of what was once a Palestinian village near Tiberias.
Like many other Palestinian villages, Al-Husha and Al-Kassayer witnessed fierce battles in mid-April 1948, according to historians of the Haganah, among the Jewish armed groups that formed the core of what became the Israeli military.
Today, the kibbutz communities of Osha, Ramat Yohanan and Kfar Hamakabi can be found on parts of land that once housed the two villages.
“During the attack on our village Al-Husha, my father took my mother, and they rode a horse to the city of Shefa-Amr,” said Musa Al-Saghir, 75, whose village had been largely made up of people who immigrated from Algeria in the 1880s.
“When they returned to see the house, the Haganah forces had blown up the village and its houses,” said the activist from a group advocating for the right of return for displaced Arabs.
Naila Awad, 50, from the village of Reineh near Nazareth, explained that the activists were demanding both the return of displaced people to their demolished villages within Israel, as well as the return of the millions of Palestinian refugees living in the West Bank, Gaza and other countries.
“No matter how much you try to break us and arrest us, we will remain on our lands,” she insisted.
Egypt rejects Israel’s denial of role in Gaza aid crisis
- Sameh Shoukry: “Egypt affirms its categorical rejection of the policy of distorting the facts and disavowing responsibility followed by the Israeli side”
CAIRO: Egypt’s foreign minister on Tuesday accused Israel of denying responsibility for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza after his Israeli counterpart said Egypt was not allowing aid into the war-torn territory.
Israeli troops on May 7 said they took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing to Egypt as part of efforts to root out Hamas militants in the east of Rafah city.
The move defied international opposition and shut one of the main humanitarian entry points into famine-threatened Gaza. Since then, Egypt has refused to coordinate with Israel aid access through the Rafah crossing.
Sameh Shoukry, Egypt’s foreign minister, said in a statement that “Egypt affirms its categorical rejection of the policy of distorting the facts and disavowing responsibility followed by the Israeli side.”
In a tweet on social media platform X, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz had said, “Yesterday, I spoke with UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock about the need to persuade Egypt to reopen the Rafah crossing to allow the continued delivery of international humanitarian aid to Gaza.”
Katz added that “the key to preventing a humanitarian crisis in Gaza is now in the hands of our Egyptian friends.”
Shoukry, whose country has tried to mediate a truce in the Israel-Hamas war, responded that “Israel is solely responsible for the humanitarian catastrophe that the Palestinians are currently facing in the Gaza Strip.”
He added that Israeli control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing and its military operations exposes “aid workers and truck drivers to imminent dangers,” referencing trucks awaiting entry to Gaza.
This, he said, “is the main reason for the inability to bring aid through the crossing.”
UN chief Antonio Guterres said he is “appalled” by Israel’s military escalation in Rafah, a spokesman said.
Guterres’ spokesman Farhan Haq said “these developments are further impeding humanitarian access and worsening an already dire situation,” while also criticizing Hamas for “firing rockets indiscriminately.”
Since Israeli troops moved into eastern Rafah, the aid crossing point from Egypt remains closed and nearby Kerem Shalom crossing lacks “safe and logistically viable access,” a UN report said late on Monday.
Daesh claims attack on army post in northern Iraq
- Daesh said in a statement on Telegram it had targeted the barracks with machine guns and grenades
BAGHDAD: Daesh claimed responsibility on Tuesday for an attack on Monday targeting an army post in northern Iraq which security sources said had killed a commanding officer and four soldiers.
The attack took place between Diyala and Salahuddin provinces, a rural area that remains a hotbed of activity for militant cells years after Iraq declared final victory over the extremist group in 2017.
Security forces repelled the attack, the defense ministry said on Monday in a statement mourning the loss of a colonel and a number of others from the regiment. The security sources said five others had also been wounded.
Daesh said in a statement on Telegram it had targeted the barracks with machine guns and grenades.
Iraq has seen relative security stability in recent years after the chaos of the 2003-US-led invasion and years of bloody sectarian conflict that followed.
