SDF denies ethnic dispute between Kurds, Arabs in eastern Syria

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Saturday denied claims that recent tensions in eastern Syria are caused by ethnic disputes between Kurds and Arabs. 

“The deliberate dissemination of propaganda, aimed at portraying the ongoing developments on the ground as a conflict between our forces and Arab tribes, is a calculated effort intended solely to foment discord and fracture the unity of the Syrian Democratic Forces and the local populace,” the SDF said in a long statement.  

Clashes erupted last Sunday after the SDF arrested Ahmed Khbeil, better known as Abu Khawla, commander of the SDF-linked Deir ez-Zor Military Council, and four of his colleagues on a list of charges including drug trafficking and coordinating with “external entities.” Both sides have suffered casualties over the week and starting Saturday morning a 48-hour curfew has been imposed.

The Arab-majority province was where Islamic State (ISIS) militants made their last stand and were territorially defeated. Control of the province, which borders Iraq, is now split between the SDF and the Syrian regime, with its Iranian backer. It is also home to many of the country’s key oilfields, such as Omar and Conoco, which the US-led global coalition against ISIS helps the SDF protect. 

There is a history of tense relations between the Kurdish-led SDF and some Arab tribes in the province. Some anti-SDF groups have claimed that the Kurdish-led force is targeting Arabs, but the SDF rejected this. 

“Additionally, some hostile entities seek to depict these events as an inter-ethnic dispute between the Kurdish and Arab communities. This stratagem has persisted since the inception of the Syrian revolution, as it has consistently been employed to redirect the course of the revolution and frame it as a conflict rooted in religious, sectarian, and ethnic divisions,” the force said. 

The US-backed SDF insists that Kurds and Arabs have good relations, saying “they have coexisted harmoniously and securely for many years, fostering a climate of mutual respect and stability.” 

Elham Ahmed, president of the Executive Committee of the Syrian Democratic Council, the political wing of the SDF, said on Friday that the “claimed agenda behind these clashes is considerably more frightening. Iran and [the] Assad regime wants to depict this unrest as a result of an ethnic conflict between Arabs and Kurds and to distract the Syrians from the protest movements in south of Syria.” 

The Deir ez-Zor Military Council is responsible for the security in the SDF-held areas of the province and has played a key role in military operations against ISIS in Syria. Abu Khawla has reportedly been replaced by his deputy, Abu Laith Khisham.