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Clashes broke out for the first time between SDF militias and Arab tribal and clan fighters led by Ibrahim al-Hafel in September 2023.

This is due to the SDF militia’s arrest of Ahmed al-Khubail, the leader of its Deir Ezzor Military Council, which includes Arab fighters from the governorate.

The SDF militias also carried out searches and raids against some of the wives of the leaders of the Deir Ezzor Military Council and some members of the al-Akidat tribe (one of the most important and largest tribes in the region). 

This was considered by the tribes as targeting Arabs.

However, due to the large difference in military power, the SDF was able to stop the attack by Ibrahim al-Hafel’s forces.

On August 7 this year, clashes renewed. Arab tribal forces attacked SDF positions in Deir Ezzor, and the leader of the forces, Ibrahim al-Hafel, said in a statement, “The tribal army will not leave its weapons and land until it is liberated and cleansed of Qandil gangs," in reference to the Kurdistan Workers Party.

Once again, the SDF militias were able to regain villages in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor after bringing in huge military reinforcements and receiving support from the US-led international coalition aircraft to avoid the expansion of battles toward the American bases of the Conoco gas plant and the al-Omar field.

Meanwhile, the SDF militias besieged thousands of civilians in the Syrian government-controlled areas in al-Hasakah and Qamishli, cut off roads, and prevented the entry of food and water to them. 

The matter was not resolved except after Russian mediation conducted by Andrei Serdikov, the commander of the Russian forces in Syria, who arrived in al-Hasakah twice within four days and met with the commander of the SDF militias Mazloum Abdi, with whom it was agreed to "return things to what they were before the siege and [highlighted] the necessity of maintaining stability and avoiding any field escalation."

Currently, the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor is witnessing relative calm in general, disturbed by the killing of the commander of the al-Bukamal Brigade in the Tribal Army, Muhammad Hussein al-Awaid, known as Abu Saddam al-Hassouni and nicknamed al-Kosoufi, after he was targeted by unknown gunmen riding a motorcycle in front of his house, near the al-Yarmouk School in the city of al-Bukamal.

On the other hand, SDF militias began digging trenches and raising dirt barriers along the line separating them from the Syrian army.

This comes days after the international coalition built 142 observation towers in the area opposite the al-Bukamal-al-Mayadin road, on the Damascus-Baghdad line, brought in additional convoys of ground and air reinforcements, and carried out live ammunition maneuvers. Four of them were in Deir Ezzor and one was in al-Hasakah

SDF militias also launched a campaign of raids targeting the homes of people they accused of belonging to the Tribal Army, blowing up some of them in an attempt to intimidate the population and prevent them from even thinking about joining any activity related to the tribes in the future. They also prompted groups of their supporters to organize protest stops in a number of cities and towns in the Deir Ezzor countryside, issuing statements on behalf of the tribes, denouncing the recent attacks and considering them a “threat to security and stability.”

According to opposition press sources, the international coalition forces have begun training SDF militia members on the “Avenger” air defense system, which is considered somewhat old compared to the modern air defense systems possessed by the coalition countries. According to these sources, it is likely that the SDF militias will be provided with this system after completing exercises.

The coalition had brought a number of these systems from northern Iraq through the al-Walid crossing in the al-Hasakah countryside to the Kharab al-Jir airport base, and then they were distributed to several coalition bases, including the al-Shaddadi base, south of al-Hasakah, and the bases of the al-Omar field and the Conoco gas plant in the Deir Ezzor countryside.