Villagers Protest against Iranian Factions Presence in Syria’s Deir Ezzor

Arab World

January 16th, 6:54am

London - Asharq Al-Awsat

Citizens in an SDF-controlled area during the US forces’ patrol in a buffer zone with Turkish troops in northeastern Syria last month (AFP)

Residents of seven villages in the northern countryside of Deir Ezzor, east Syria, protested on Saturday against the presence of Iranian-backed factions in their regions, according to a UK-based war monitor. In a report, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights cited reliable sources monitoring a demonstration near Al- Salihiya crossing north of Deir Ezzor, calling for the removal of Iranian proxies from areas under their control in the countryside of Deir Ezzor. The seven villages from which residents partook in the demonstration are al-Husseiniya, Murat, Mazloum, al-Salihiya, Hatla, Khasham and Tabiya. The crowd raised banners that read “We call on the US-led International Coalition to remove Iranian-backed militias from Syria – “Iran is cancer and must be removed” – “Compromise is impossible on the right of return.” On Friday, Observatory sources reported that hundreds of civilians from the regime-controlled city of Al-Tabaqah in Al-Raqqah province staged a mass demonstration demanding the toppling of the Syrian regime. The demonstrators also expressed their rejection of the reconciliation deals conducted by regime forces in the western countryside of Al-Raqqah. In other news, the Observatory reported on a Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) patrol of eight military vehicles and a bulldozer closing a river crossing on Saturday evening in Zaghira Jadidah town in the western countryside of Deir Ezzor. It is worth noting that the crossing was used for smuggling goods and fuel to regime-controlled areas. On Friday, Observatory activists confirmed that a new commercial crossing was opened by regime forces in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor connecting the SDF-controlled town of Al-Baghouz, the last ISIS stronghold in east Euphrates region, and Al-Bokamal city which is under the control of regime forces and Iranian-backed militias near the Syria-Iraqi border. The crossing was opened in the presence of military commanders.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3417151/villagers-protest-against-iranian-factions-presence-syria%E2%80%99s-deir-ezzor