Thread about the clashes between SAA and SDF north of Dayr az-Zawr today with information I gathered and own thoughts:
1) In the morning, SAA captured the villages al-Junaynah, al-Ma'ishiyah, ash-Shaqrah, al-Jiyah and al-'Ulay'an (position of the latter unknown).
According to Euphrates post, all SAA gains have been reversed by a SDF counteroffensive this afternoon.
According to Euphrates post, all SAA gains have been reversed by a SDF counteroffensive this afternoon.
2) SDF brought in reinforcements from Conoco gas and al-Umar oilfield and got heavy air support from the International Coalition.
3) The attack wasn't conducted by the Syrian army but by local militias close to it, mostly Baqir Brigades and Shia militants from al-Hatlah.
en.deirezzor24.net/details-regard…
en.deirezzor24.net/details-regard…
4) The incident has more of a local and tribal nature and is not a sign of some change in Assads policy. The militants are mostly from al-Baqarah tribe, which settles mostly at the northern bank of the Euphrates between the Hammat al-Jazirah plateau and the Khabur.
5) A part of the tribe converted to Shia in recent years and this part is understandably very supportive to Assad.
They are the main source for the tensions in the area, as they want to see the al-Baqarah tribal area back under Syrian government.
They are the main source for the tensions in the area, as they want to see the al-Baqarah tribal area back under Syrian government.
6) The SAA doesn't hinder the fighters from pushing their agenda but is most likely not involved in the planning.
7) Now there is some other info by @EuphratesPost, saying that persons close to DMC leader Ahmad al-Jaffal (civilian name of Ahmad al-Khawla?) were involved in the entry of pro-Assad forces into the villages.
8) There may very well be an al-Baqarah faction inside the DMC that's interested in a return of the Syrian government to the area. Reports like that underline, that DeZ is a tribal environment where political events always involve tribes.
9) @EuphratesPost reports that there was initially no resistace, which further backs the theory of tribal involvement in the incident.
When reinforcement from Conoco came in, the attacking militants suffered several casualties.
euphratespost.com/%D9%87%D8%AC%D…
When reinforcement from Conoco came in, the attacking militants suffered several casualties.
euphratespost.com/%D9%87%D8%AC%D…
10) @DeirEzzor24 reported earlier this afternoon, that at least 7 SDF fighters and 14 pro-SAA fighters were killed and that SDF captured some fighters in al-'Ulay'an.
Civilians fled the areas of clashes to areas under SDF control northwest of it.
Civilians fled the areas of clashes to areas under SDF control northwest of it.
11) Baladi News claims, that the DMC commander I mentioned before Ahmad al-Jaffal, has been among the ones that lost their lives during the clashes. However, this is not confirmed yet.
baladi-news.com/ar/news/detail…
baladi-news.com/ar/news/detail…
12) I need to say however, that my thought of Ahmad al-Jaffal being identical to Abu Khawla is wrong, as Baladi news mentions al-Jaffal's nomme de guerre as Abu Hamza.
13) Apparently, coalition air force attacked the heart hospital in Deir ez-Zor in retaliation and caused heavy damage.
13) I close this thread (unless I get some updates I might want to add later) with some background information about the Dayr az-Zawr military council, the part of the SDF that is responsible for the security in the local SDF-controlled areas.
14) Ayyash al-Issa, village head of al-Jiyah, fled towards SAA-held al-Husayniyah because he was part of one of the cells that helped the pro-Assad militias to enter the area.
15) I also want to mention, that the report about the airstrike on a hospital was most likely wrong!
There are no new reports or video evidence, which should be the case in such a sensitive topic by now.
There are no new reports or video evidence, which should be the case in such a sensitive topic by now.
16) Since I didn't add it properly into the thread before, I'll re-tweet some background information about the Dayr az-Zawr Military Council here:
