Deir-ez-Zor again between plans, dimensions and clash with societal power

On the anniversary of the massacre committed by ISIS mercenaries against the people of Deir-ez-Zor canton in 2014, specifically in the eastern countryside of the villages and towns of the Shaitat clan, which claimed the lives of 1,700 people and left more than 1,000 kidnapped, the people of the region woke up on August 7 to the sounds of shells and missiles launched by the Damascus government forces and the so-called "National Defense" this time. 

The recent attacks that targeted the cities, towns and villages of the eastern countryside of Deir-ez-Zor canton on the banks of the Euphrates River made the blood of children, women and men flow again, as they killed 15 civilians and injured 24 others.

This situation brought the Deir-ez-Zor region back to the forefront again, after a year of similar plots and attacks that targeted all areas of the canton in 2023, and their continuation and repetition with different names and titles in the Deir-ez-Zor, suggests that there are several dimensions regarding the region, so what is this targeted geography and its importance, who are the targeted parties, what is the goal, and what is its counterpart?

Geography and social composition of Deir-ez-Zor

The targeted Deir-ez-Zor canton on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River covers an area of 17,000 square kilometers and is administered by the Democratic Autonomous Administration. It has great strategic geographical importance, especially its eastern countryside and the northeast, where it links Syria to Iraq.

It is one of the richest areas in Syria in natural resources, especially oil and gas; in addition to that, it has perhaps the greatest importance, as it was the last stronghold of ISIS mercenaries that was defeated by the Syrian Democratic Forces.

Deir-ez-Zor canton consists of the following administrative units: "8 cities (Al-Kasra, Al-Jazrat, Al-Sour, Al-Basirah, Hajin, Al-Furat city, Al-Shuhail city, Al-Sousah city, and 23 towns", in addition to dozens of villages as rural areas of cities and towns.

It is considered one of the tribal areas in Syria, and its largest tribes are Al-Bakara in the western and northwestern countryside, and Al-Aqeedat, spread in the eastern and northeastern countryside.

The most targeted area in Deir-ez-Zor canton is the eastern countryside, where the Al-Aqeedat tribe is spread, consisting of three clans: Al-Bu Jamal (Kamel), Al-Bu Jamal, and Zamel, from which branch off "the Jamel clans, which are (Al-Bakir, Al-Shwait, Al-Burhamah, Al-Bu Hassan, Al-Dawaher, Al-Saleh and Al-Talaa Al-Hamad in Al-Shuhail, Al-Bu Izz Al-Din and Al-Bu Khalaf); as for the Al-Bu Kamal (Al-Bu Jamal) clans, they are (Al-Hassoun, Al-Marashda, Al-Bu Marih, Al-Dameem, and Al-Idhar), and as for the Zamel clans, they are (Al-Shaitat), in addition to the Mushahada clans, and Al-Bu Khabur, which includes three branches: (Al-Bu Omar, Al-Bu Hlehil, Al-Bu Muait, Al-Bu Saraya, Al-Mutarada, Al-Marasma, Al-Bu Khater, Al-Jghaifa, Al-Bulail, and Al-Quraan).

Deir-ez-Zor during the Syrian crisis

After the outbreak of the popular movement in Syria on March 15, 2011, Deir -ez-Zor witnessed a state of dispersion and chaos in the period from July 2011 to April 2012 after the spread of protests and the control of armed groups over several areas, as a result of the conflict between them over oil wells and areas of influence, and the beginning of the penetration of mercenaries from Jabhet al-Nusra and then ISIS and their control over Deir-ez-Zor.

However, the eastern countryside of Deir-ez-Zor, specifically the Al-Shaitat clan, tried to limit ISIS control and undermine the will of the region's residents, but its remaining alone with the failure of the rest of the clans in the same countryside to support it, left it vulnerable to massacres committed by ISIS mercenaries in August 2024, which claimed the lives of 1,700 people and 1,000 kidnapped.

Liberation from ISIS mercenaries

After nearly 5 years of control, Deir-ez-Zor canton was liberated from ISIS mercenaries in March 2019. It was a turning point in the history of the province, with the Syrian Democratic Forces defeating ISIS in its last strongholds, and eliminating its last geographical presence in Al-Baghouz in the far east of Deir-ez-Zor countryside, with the return of the people of the region to manage their affairs through the Deir-ez-Zor Civil Council. The areas liberated from ISIS within the geography of Deir-ez-Zor turned into a canton in late 2023, managed by its people under the umbrella of the Democratic Autonomous Administration.

The period following the liberation was characterized by the formation of communes, councils, service, health and educational institutions, and the restoration of infrastructure and the restoration of services to all areas. However, the organization and the reconstruction process did not pass without difficulties or challenges. The sleeper cells of ISIS mercenaries did not calm down, and the efforts of the Damascus government forces, the so-called "National Defense" and Turkey did not stop targeting the existing regime, according to what the administrators of the canton confirm, and the indicators and facts witnessed by the canton.

The latest living examples of what the province witnessed in terms of targeting

In August of last year 2023, the forces of the Damascus government and others affiliated with it, and Turkey, exploited the operations of the Internal Security Forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces to combat corruption and pursue cells in the canton, to support the wave of sabotage, gangs and ISIS cells, in various forms.

The Deir-ez-Zor Military Council, which is part of the Syrian Democratic Forces, responded by launching a security and military operation "Enhancing Security", through which it primarily targeted ISIS cells, in addition to pursuing drug dealers and criminal elements wanted by justice for committing crimes against residents and public institutions.

The Syrian Democratic Forces explained at the time: "Some parties, most notably some of the security services affiliated with the Syrian regime, found that the success of this operation would eliminate their projects and plans within the region, so they rushed to direct events in another direction, and began introducing armed elements into the villages of Deir-ez-Zor by penetrating from the western bank of the Euphrates River."

In a clear and explicit confession by one of the elements of the so-called "National Defense" called Ghiath Jumaa Sahour, who crossed the Euphrates River to the city of Al-Busayrah, and participated in attacking the forces of the "Security Enhancement" operation, that they received orders from the security services of the Damascus government to fight against the Syrian Democratic Forces under the name (tribes), ANHA's agency published it on September 9, 2023.

Coinciding with the attacks, the Turkish occupation state escalated its air and artillery bombardment against the region of North and East Syria, accompanied by a ground attack and the infiltration of its mercenaries into the countryside of Manbij Canton. The goal of its attacks supporting the attackers on the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor was not absent from the speeches of the speakers in those attacks.

From covert intervention under different names to direct intervention

The attacks launched on the eastern countryside of Deir-ez-Zor canton in 2023 were carried out by groups supported and incited by the Damascus government forces, but the attacks of August 7 were launched by the Damascus government forces and the so-called "National Defense" affiliated with it.

The Damascus government forces and the so-called "National Defense" attacked, on August 7, from their points west of the Euphrates, the eastern countryside of Deir-ez-Zor canton, under heavy artillery cover, committing massacres that claimed the lives of 15 civilians and injured 24 others.

In conjunction with the attacks of the Damascus government forces on Deir-ez-Zor , the Turkish occupation state targeted the points of the Syrian Democratic Forces in al-Jazira canton with its drones, and shelled the villages of the Manbij, Afrin and al-Shahba cantons with artillery.

The goal

The leader of the Hajin Military Council, Abu Ali Ashara, described these attacks as a conspiracy, and believes that they are for international political, economic and military calculations and agendas, whose main goal is "to push and make the region an unsafe and unstable battlefield, with regional support from conflicting parties within the ongoing war in the Middle East, as well as an attempt to strike the DAA's project by disrupting the security, political and economic situation in the region of North and East Syria."

Abu Ali Ashara explained that: "The attack on Deir-ez-Zor is part of the ongoing attacks on the region of North and East Syria. Many countries, including Turkey, the regime and others supporting the regime, are conspiring against the peoples of the region."

We have no choice but to defend the region

The leader of the Hajin Military Council confirms that the power to deter what the people of Deir-ez-Zor have faced lies in the community organizing itself, unlike how things have been since the beginning of the Syrian crisis, and he noted the possession and presence of experienced and capable military forces formed from the people of the region capable of confronting any attack.

Abu Ali Ashara confirmed: "We have no choice but to defend the region, our answer is resistance, we will resist until the last breath and will not give up a single inch of our land, and our strategy is clear, which is to defend and confront any attack on the regions of North and East Syria, and we promise the mercenaries a firm response at any place and time."

The vision of the clans and society in Deir-ez-Zor, and the entire region of North and East Syria, agrees with the vision of the leader Abu Ali Ashara, that the attacks are against the will of the Deir-ez-Zor community represented by the DAA.

The spokesman for the Albukamal tribes, Salah Al-Salman, confirms that the will and position of the people of the region, which emerged through the confrontation of the forces of the Deir-ez-Zor Military Council and the Hajin Military Council, and the rallying around their existing system, the Democratic Autonomous Administration, thwarted the attempts of the Damascus government forces and ISIS mercenaries to occupy the region again.

Salah Al-Salman said: "The position of the people of the region and our tribes was honorable for our tribes, who pledged to stand in one trench with their sons in the Syrian Democratic Forces, and it still will remain and will continue."

T/ Satt.

ANHA