A comprehensive view of the Middle East: The civil strife in the US-controlled areas of Syria continues, and it is difficult to stop American allies from "killing each other" with military aid and med
The US military in Syria has been in trouble recently. In the US-controlled area of dayr az zawr in northern Syria, the fighting between Arab tribes and Kurdish armed forces, both allies of the US military, has lasted for more than 20 days, resulting in more than 190 deaths. Although the U.S. military urged the two sides to cease fire and asked them to go to a U.S. military base called Al-Omer for negotiations, the fighting did not stop because of the intervention of the U.S. military. At present, the military conflict has spread to Aleppo, another province in northern Syria. The fierce fighting has seriously affected the food supply of people in the region, and some people even fled to Iraq to escape the fighting.
The differentiated military assistance of the US military has buried hidden dangers of conflict.
The conflict between Arab tribes and Kurdish armed forces in dayr az zawr has a long history. Although they jointly oppose the Syrian government and support the US military occupation of the area east of the Euphrates River in dayr az zawr, the differentiated military assistance of the US military has laid a hidden danger of conflict.
In 2015, the United States joined hands with Kurdish armed forces to control the northeast of Syria. However, after the failure to overthrow the Syrian government, the United States turned to seek to split Syria, and favored the Kurds’ demands for independence. The Kurds in dayr az zawr gradually became the most loyal regional agents of the US military. The U.S. military provided them with heavy weapons, assisted in the establishment of military schools, and carried out technical training such as special forces and field assault, which finally enabled the Kurds to organize a relatively formal military force.
In contrast, although the Arab tribes in this area have the same goal as the United States in overthrowing the Syrian government, they do not pursue independence, and the US military has therefore implemented "limited military assistance" to them. Arab tribes can only get light weapons, and lack formal military training, and have never established formal armed forces.
With such military assistance, there are more than 10,000 Kurdish armed men in dayr az zawr, while the Arab tribes are "only" about 1,100. Paradoxically, the population of Arab tribes in dayr az zawr is as high as 95%, and the rise of Kurdish armed forces makes Arab tribes constantly complain that their territorial security is threatened.
Long-term accumulation of powder kegs is inevitable. The fuse of the latest round of conflict is that Kurdish armed forces detained a leader of the Arab tribe. In late August, the Kurdish armed forces invited Ahmed Khabir, the leader of the Arab tribe "Arab Committee", to the area controlled by the former, but Khabir was arrested by the Kurdish armed forces on charges of "treason" and "liaising with the Syrian government" as soon as he arrived. This move aroused the anger of all Arab tribes in dayr az zawr. They demanded that the Kurdish armed forces release Khabir within 12 hours, or they would launch an attack, which was flatly rejected by the Kurdish armed forces, and the conflict broke out.
The US military’s slow mediation is called mediation, but it is actually biased.
The fighting between Kurdish armed forces and Arab tribes is extremely fierce. The conflict on September 2 alone caused more than 50 casualties. As a common ally of the two countries, the US military chose to watch the fire from the other side of the bank, and said that the US military would stop patrolling the area because of the deteriorating security situation. In this regard, the article published by the Syrian independent newspaper "Motherland" on the same day hit the nail on the head. "The US military will intervene after waiting for the warring parties to be exhausted, so as to consolidate its important position in this region." The article stated that the US military tried to weaken the strength of both sides of the conflict by maintaining apparent neutrality. On the one hand, it supported the military actions of Kurdish armed forces, and on the other hand, it announced its support for Arab tribes to regain the rights deprived by Kurdish armed forces.
△ US troops stationed in Syria (Source: local media)
After many days, the US military finally launched "mediation" on September 5, inviting both sides of the conflict to negotiate in the American military base in Omer, Aleppo. The Kurds immediately responded positively, but the Arab tribes only sent a low-level representative and expressed concern that they would be ambushed or arrested again. The negotiations between the two sides soon broke down. Syrian political expert Mahin commented that this is a "doomed failure" negotiation. He pointed out that the US military did not openly exert any pressure on the Kurdish armed forces in releasing the arrested Arab tribal leaders, and the US military should ask the Kurdish armed forces to release the Arab tribal leaders first, and then hold talks.
The US military continues to steal oil in Syria, and the uneven distribution of spoils promotes the continuation of the conflict.
Dayr az zawr, known as the oil and gas basket of Syria, has about 80% oil reserves in Syria. 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 set up bases around oil fields to ensure the "smooth" stealing of Syrian oil resources, and most of the oil proceeds flow to the US military to pay for its high military expenditure costs in Syria, while the other part flows to Kurdish armed forces. However, as an ally of the US military, the Arab tribes, like all Syrians in government-controlled areas, watch the oil being transported abroad, but they have to bear the high gasoline and diesel costs caused by the US economic sanctions policy in their lives.
An article published in "Motherland" commented, "The Arab tribes in Deir ez-Zor account for the majority of the local population, but only have very few in the region.smallPart of the wealth. Under the threat of Kurdish armed forces, the leaders of Arab tribes can’t even enjoy a decent position. It is for this reason that Arab tribal leader Ibrahim Afler recently called for the continuation of actions against Kurdish armed forces. Yusuf Lifar, a Syrian military expert, pointed out that tribal fighters are usually good at ambushes and covert operations, and now they choose to attack Kurdish armed forces head-on, showing the determination of Arab tribes. The presence of the US military has aggravated the unprecedented internal turmoil in dayr az zawr and plunged itself into a conflict that may not end soon.
From overthrowing the legitimate government to splitting the territory, the US military has done everything in Syria, and it seems that such means have not stopped. According to a recent report in Syria’s Fuxing Daily, the US military is in contact with the Druze people in Suweida province, Syria, trying to incite them to rebel against the government’s rule and finally seek independence. The root of Deir ez-Zor’s bloody turmoil is that the United States wantonly tramples on other countries’ sovereignty and interferes in other countries’ internal affairs, and such acts will eventually make it suffer the consequences.
Producer Mu Muli
Producer Zhang Yuchen?
Reporter Wang Weiwei