US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Ethan Goldrich and Major General Joel B. Vowell, commander of the US-led coalition, met on Sunday with SDF and tribal leaders from Deir ez-Zor where they “agreed on the importance of addressing the grievances of residents” and “the dangers of outsides interfering” in the province, the US Embassy in Syria said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The Kurdish-led force afterwards issued a statement saying that it has the support of tribes in the Arab-majority province and that both sides have agreed to cooperate on security matters.
“The SDF and the tribes in the region are on one side and have agreed in advance to enhance the stability and security [of the region],” the SDF said in the statement, adding that the heads of the tribes attending the meeting played a positive role in supporting its operations.
According to the statement, the SDF have swept the town of al-Basira and a large part of al-Shuhail and are heading towards ending the operation with a “firm decision” in al-Dhiban town.
The SDF have accused Ibrahim al-Hafel, the head of the al-Akidat tribe in southern Syria, as the “head of the strife,” and have put him on the wanted list. He is accused of having caused bloodshed among the fighters and residents of Deir ez-Zor and the displacement of civilians from the region, based on orders from “external parties.”
“Ibrahim [al-Hafel] and the intruder militants he brought from the west of the Euphrates [River] will no longer be pardoned,” the SDF affirmed.
On Saturday, Hafel in a video called on his tribe to continue their operations and clashes against the SDF in Deir ez-Zor, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor.
Clashes have been taking place for a week in Syria’s eastern Deir ez-Zor province between Kurdish forces and pro-regime militias after a curfew was imposed in the province with fighting having left at least 50 dead.
Tensions escalated last week after the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (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.
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.
Clashes in the province have so far killed at least 54 people, including six children, according to the Syrian