Deir Ezzur Residents Ask Damascus to Take Control of Eastern Syria

Residents of Eastern Deir Ezzur called on the Syrian government to return to the Eastern parts of the country to expel occupiers from the region as tensions heightened between the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and civilians.

News ID: 444651

Date: 03 May 2019 - 18:23

RNA - Residents of Eastern Deir Ezzur called on the Syrian government to return to the Eastern parts of the country to expel occupiers from the region as tensions heightened between the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and civilians.

Deir Ezzur

The Arabic-language al-Watan newspaper reported on Wednesday that residents of different parts of Eastern Deir Ezzur have raised the demand in several contacts with the paper.

It underlined that residents of towns and villages of Deir Ezzur are highly dissatisfied with measures adopted by the occupying US forces and SDF, including detentions, torture of civilians and seizure of the civilian properties.

The newspaper said that the occupied areas in Hasaka and Deir Ezzur do not enjoy even the minimum living conditions, including electricity, adding that a large number of residents of the towns and villages in Eastern Deir Ezzur have been transferred to the Syrian army-controlled areas.

Meantime, residents of tens of towns and villages in Eastern Deir Ezzur have staged rallies in the past week against the SDF's actions against civilians and their hoarding of fuel and closed the roads, demanding for their withdrawal from the region.

Hasaka

The United States and Israel are reportedly set to supply anti-aircraft missiles to Kurdish militants in Northern Syria amid tensions between Ankara and Washington over the latter’s support for the militants, which the Turkish government views as terrorists.

Citing local sources, Yeni Safak daily reported that the US is set to deliver shipments of Stinger Man Portable Air Defense System (MANPADS) to militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

The PKK, it added, has designated the towns of Rmelan and Shaddadah in Syria’s Hasakah Province as well as the Jalabiyah and al-Omar regions as launching points for its American-supplied missiles.

According to Fars News Agancy, Ankara is unhappy with Washington’s support for Kurdish militants of the People’s Protection Units (YPG), which it views as an extension of the PKK, and has repeatedly called on the US administration to stop providing them with arms.

The PKK has been fighting for autonomy inside Turkey for decades and runs bases in neighboring Syria and Iraq as well.

The report further noted that the regime in Israel has also vowed to supply the Kurds with Spike anti-aircraft missiles in the Syrian provinces of Deir Ezzur and Raqqa following high-level meetings between the militants and Tel Aviv.

Israel has long been backing the militants operating against the Syrian government. The regime has, on several occasions, criticized Turkey for its operations against the Kurdish militants.

The US-Kurdish alliance is closely coordinating the missiles’ deployment to Syria as part of a “special joint strategy”, according to the report.

It further added that a group of 30 PKK militants have already received training to handle the advanced anti-aircraft missiles.

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