SDF mobilizes forces in Deir Ezzor, sparks outrage: sources
Al Mayadeen's sources report that the US-backed SDF militia launched a widespread arrests campaign in the northern Deir Ezzor countryside.
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US-backed SDF militants in Syria
The people of the northern Deir Ezzor countryside are outraged over the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militia launching a widespread arrest campaign in the region, Al Mayadeen's sources reported Saturday.
The locals "are blocking the main roads in Al-Busayrah after arrests took place in the town," our sources said, noting that the people of Deir Ezzor brunt down an SDF military checkpoint at the entrance to Al-Busayrah.
SDF, in light of the outrage among the locals, is mobilizing its militants in the region as the US-led coalition aircraft fly overhead.
Several SDF militants were killed and wounded a few days ago during an offensive that used automatic rifles and explosive projectiles. The offensive targeted several SDF sites in the Deir Ezzor countryside.
SDF-affiliated armed groups launched a raid campaign that targeted a vast number of homes in Al-Sousa, Deir Ezzor, after imposing a lockdown in the region and erecting checkpoints. The US-backed forces kidnapped dozens of civilians and took them to undisclosed locations.
The United States, in a bid to boost its influence and scope of control in Syria, said it would allow some foreign investment in areas controlled by the US-backed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militias in Syria - namely the so-called People's Defense Units (YPG) - without facing sanctions.
"The United States intends in the next few days to issue a general license to facilitate private economic investment activity in non-regime-held areas liberated from ISIS in Syria," she said.
Under the supposed pretext of fighting ISIS, the YPG gained control over Syrian territory with the assistance of the US occupation, particularly in the northeast bordering Turkey and Iraq. The area contains some of the world's richest oil reserves, in addition to agricultural land and a bank of the Euphrates river.
The US is also looking to raise $350 million for "stabilization" activities in northeastern Syria, where Western multinational companies have been drawing out and profiting from the resources. Nuland said that the US is seeking a similar amount for Iraq.
