Kurdish militia in Syria's Deir Ezzor retreats as rebels take over

Hayat Tahrir Al Sham's leader is consolidating control over the country

Members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in Deir Ezzor on Saturday. Reuters

The city of Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria has fallen to rebels who overthrew Bashar Al Assad after the Kurdish SDF militia withdrew from the area, residents said on Wednesday.

The rebels have also captured the three main oilfields in the province, sources said. They were aided by an Arab component of the SDF called the Military Council, which defected to them. Since Mr Al Assad's downfall on Sunday, more than 200 Arabs have been killed in the governorate of Deir Ezzor and the adjacent governorate of Raqqa in uprisings against Kurdish warlords. There were no available figures on SDF casualties.

The fall of Deir Ezzor further consolidates the position of Ahmad Al Shara, leader of Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, an offshoot of Al Qaeda with links to Turkey. The HTS, which the US designated terrorists in 2014, toppled Mr Al Assad aided by proxy militias of Ankara, capping a rapid advance from the north.

Mr Al Shara has moved quickly to install a new government in Damascus, staying away from confrontation with the US and Israel, which has since destroyed military hardware abandoned by the Syrian army. Washington created the SDF in 2015 as a ground component in the fight against ISIS in eastern Syria. The area, home to about two million people, is ethnically mixed between Arabs and Kurds.

Rebel spokesman Hassan Abdul Ghani said Deir Ezzor along with its eastern and western countryside are now under their control. “Our fighters are continuing their progress,” he said.

The east became a US zone of influence manned by Washington's proxy SDF militias as Syria fragmented during the civil war. The conflict started in 2011 after regime forces crushed a peaceful protest movement demanding the removal of Mr Al Assad. The SDF helped the regime crackdown on the protests and collaborated with the government against the armed revolt.

Many in the SDF, including its leaders, are linked to the Turkish PKK, which is considered a terrorist organisation by Washington but was seen as a useful ground component in US-led military operations against ISIS. The SDF had hoped to establish a fief across the north of Syria, running from the Mediterranean to the border with Iraq.

Fighting has also been continuing between the SDF and Arab armed groups in Manbaj, which was about to fall to the rebels before the US mediated a ceasefire. SDF commander Mazloum Abdi said on Wednesday that under the deal, forces allied with the SDF would withdraw from the city “as soon as possible”.

Now, the survival of the Kurds as a major player in post-Assad Syria has been thrown into doubt.