Attempts to undermine security in Deir Ezzor by targeting the SDF

Several armed groups carried out attacks against Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) positions in Deir Ezzor. Dozens of deaths and injuries were reported. The SDF also issued a statement announcing that an infiltration attempt by gunmen loyal to the Syrian regime had been thwarted.

Following the attacks on the SDF, clashes with local gunmen left 22 people dead, including three SDF fighters, and 42 wounded, including 12 SDF fighters and 4 civilians. According to a statement released by the SDF Press Center, armed forces affiliated with the Syrian regime attempted to infiltrate the areas of Ziban district, east of Deir Ezzor, from the town of Meyadin, west of the Euphrates River. The SDF forces then surrounded 2 armed groups in the town of Ziban. Speaking to the ANHA news agency, the head of the SDF press center, Farhad Shami, said that the areas east of Deir Ezzor were under the control of their forces. The SDF Press Center also announced on its official website that its forces had expelled all armed groups from the town.

In its statement yesterday, the SDF said: “Our forces have taken urgent measures to ensure the security and stability of the area and to guarantee the safety of civilians by facilitating their access to safe areas in the surrounding villages. They are also not allowing the gangs to involve civilians in their terrorist activities until they destroy the armed groups and force them to surrender.” The statement added that random mortar and artillery shelling from regime areas west of the Euphrates River had injured some civilians and caused material damage to their homes.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said it had obtained video footage showing gunmen crossing from areas where Iranian militias are present to areas east of the Euphrates to fight against the SDF. SOHR also stressed that clashes broke out after the gunmen attacked an SDF checkpoint in the northern countryside of Deir Ezzor.