Middle East Perspective | Continual Military Assistance and Mediation Difficulty in Preventing US Allies from "Mutualism" in Syrian US Controlled Areas

The US military in Syria has been in constant trouble recently. The fighting between Arab tribes and Kurdish armed forces, who are also allies of the US military, has lasted for more than 20 days in the US controlled area of Deir Zor province in northern Syria, resulting in over 190 deaths. Although the US military urged both sides to cease fire and demanded that they go to a US military base called "Aleomar" for negotiations, the fighting did not stop due to US intervention. At present, the military conflict has spread to another province in northern Syria, Aleppo. The intense fighting has seriously affected the food supply of the people in the region, and even some people have fled to Iraq to avoid the fighting.

Differentiated military assistance from the US military buries potential conflicts

The conflict between Arab tribes and Kurdish armed forces in Deir Zor province has a long history. Although both sides jointly oppose the Syrian government and support the US occupation of the area east of the Euphrates River in Deir Zor Province, the differentiated military assistance provided by the US military poses a hidden danger to the conflict.

In 2015, the United States joined forces with Kurdish armed forces to control northeastern Syria. However, after the failure to overthrow the Syrian government, the United States turned to seeking division in Syria and favored the Kurdish demand for independence. The Kurds in Deir Zor province gradually became the most loyal regional agents of the US military. The US military provided them with heavy weapons and assisted in establishing military schools, conducting technical training for special forces and field assaults, ultimately enabling the Kurds to organize a relatively regular military force.

△ Kurdish armed forces in training

In contrast, although the Arab tribes in the area share the same goal as the United States in overthrowing the Syrian government, they do not pursue independence, and as a result, the US military has provided limited military assistance to them. The Arab tribes can only obtain light weapons and lack formal military training, and have never established formal armed forces.

Under such "differentiated" military aid, the number of Kurdish armed personnel in Deir Zor province exceeded 10000, while the Arab tribal armed forces only had about 1100. However, paradoxically, the Arab tribal population in Deir Zor province reached 95%, and the rise of Kurdish armed forces has led Arab tribes to constantly complain about the threat to their territorial security.

△ Group photo of members of Arab tribal armed groups

Long term accumulation of gunpowder barrels inevitably triggers an explosion. The trigger for the latest round of conflict was the Kurdish armed seizure of a leader from an Arab tribe. In late August, the Kurdish armed forces invited Ahmed Habil, the leader of the Arab tribal "Arab Council" organization, to the former controlled area. However, as soon as Habil arrived, he was arrested by the Kurdish armed forces on charges of "treason" and "collusion with the Syrian government". This move sparked anger among all Arab tribes in Deir Zor province, who demanded that the Kurdish armed forces release Haber within 12 hours, otherwise an attack would be launched. The conflict erupted when the Kurdish armed forces firmly refused.

The US military's slow mediation action, known as mediation, is actually pulling the strings

The fighting between Kurdish armed forces and Arab tribes was exceptionally intense, with the conflict on September 2nd alone resulting in over 50 casualties. As a joint ally of the two, the US military chose to observe the situation from the shore and stated that due to the deteriorating security situation, they would stop patrolling the area. In response, an article published by the Syrian independent newspaper "Motherland" on the same day hit the nail on the head, stating that "the US military is waiting for the warring parties to be exhausted before intervening, in order to consolidate its important position in the region.". The article states that the US military is attempting to weaken the power of both sides in the conflict by maintaining surface neutrality, while supporting the military actions of the Kurdish armed forces and announcing its support for Arab tribes to regain their rights deprived by the Kurdish armed forces.

△ US troops stationed in Syria

After several days, the US military finally launched a "mediation" on September 5th, inviting the conflicting parties to negotiate at the Omar US military base in Aleppo. The Kurds immediately responded positively, but the Arab tribes only sent one low-level representative and expressed concerns about being ambushed or arrested again. The negotiations between the two sides quickly broke down. Syrian political expert Masin commented that this is a negotiation that is "destined to fail". He pointed out that the US military did not publicly exert any pressure on the Kurdish armed forces to release the arrested Arab tribal leaders. The US military should demand that the Kurdish armed forces release the Arab tribal leaders first before holding talks.

The US military continues to steal oil from Syria and unevenly distributes the spoils, driving the ongoing conflict

Deir Zor Province is known as Syria's oil and gas basket, with approximately 80% of Syria's oil reserves. After the US military seized the area east of the Euphrates River from the Syrian government, it meant occupying almost all the oil fields in the province. They built bases around oil fields to ensure the "smooth" theft of Syrian oil resources, and a portion of the vast majority of oil revenue went to the US military to pay for its high military expenses in Syria, while another portion went to the Kurdish armed forces. However, as allies of the US military, Arab tribes, like all Syrians in government controlled areas, watched the oil being transported abroad, while bearing the high gasoline and diesel costs caused by US economic sanctions in their daily lives.

An article published in the "Motherland Daily" commented that "the Arab tribes in Deir Zor make up the majority of the local population, but only have a small portion of the region's wealth. Under the threat of Kurdish armed forces, the leaders of Arab tribes cannot even enjoy a dignified status." It is precisely for this reason that Arab tribal leader Ibrahim Alfl recently called for continued action against Kurdish armed forces. Syrian military expert Yusuf Lifar pointed out that tribal fighters are usually skilled in ambushes and secret operations, and now they choose to directly attack Kurdish armed forces, demonstrating the determination of Arab tribes. The presence of the US military has exacerbated unprecedented internal turmoil in Deir Zor province and plunged itself into a conflict that may not end soon.

From overthrowing the legitimate government to dividing territories, the US military has done everything in Syria, and such methods seem to have not stopped. A recent report by the Syrian newspaper "The Renaissance" shows that the US military is in contact with the Druze people in Suvida province, Syria, in an attempt to incite them to resist government rule and ultimately seek independence. The bloody turmoil in Deir Zor stems from the United States recklessly trampling on the sovereignty and interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, and such actions will ultimately lead to its own consequences.

Producer | Muli

Producer | Zhang Yuchen

Reporter | Wang Weiwei