By Samah Abdul Fattah | 2023-10-04

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has established a new tribal militia in the Syrian province of Deir Ezzor with the aim of uniting affiliated tribesmen to confront the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), activists say.

This move will have serious consequences, they told Al-Fassel, and will precipitate tension, security chaos and armed clashes in the eastern region.

"In the minor dispute that occurred between the SDF and some of the people of the region, the IRGC found a good opportunity to recruit more youth," Iranian affairs specialist Sheyar Turko told Al-Fassel.

The aim is to "sow discord" among Arabs and Kurds in the province, he said.

The IRGC recently formed a new militia known as the Hashemite Tribes Regiment, headed up by Bakara tribe leader Sheikh Nawaf al-Bashir, he said.

Al-Bashir "is one of the most pro-Iranian tribal leaders and had previously founded many factions loyal to Iran and the Syrian regime," he said.

These groups mostly comprise Bakara, Marasmeh and Mashahdeh tribesmen whose task was, and continues to be, engaging in smuggling operations, protecting trucks and guarding headquarters, Turko said.

"Although they are led by tribesmen, the actual leaders are IRGC officers," he said.

Sowing discord

By choosing the 'Hashemite' name for the new militia, the IRGC aims to "sow discord," Turko said, as the designation implies these tribes are descendants of Ahl al-Bayt (the family of the Prophet Mohammed).

The term 'tribes' itself is a clue about the upcoming mission of the IRGC and its affiliates, "which is to sow discord and disturb the peace between the tribes and the rest of the civilians in the area," he added.

Turko noted that al-Bashir had previously established a faction under the name of "Lions of the Tribes".

More recently, when tension arose in the Deir Ezzor region, he threatened that the new formation "will have the mission of controlling both banks of the Euphrates river and placing them under the full control of the tribes."

He claimed that at a later stage, this territory will be handed over to the Syrian regime.

"As soon as the establishment of the new faction was announced, Sheikh Nawaf al-Bashir quickly merged his more than 1,000 elements into it, all of whom are from the Bakara tribe," said media activist Ayham al-Ali of Albu Kamal.

They have been sent to secure the al-Qura al-Sabah area, he told Al-Fassel.

The recruiters for the new militia are a disreputable group, he said, and have focused on reeling in young men who are wanted by the Syrian regime's security forces, the unemployed and drug addicts.

"They are mainly lured by the promise of security cards that would allow them to move freely without being harassed by the regime's security agencies, in addition to monthly salaries, monthly food aid, and gifts during holiday periods."

IRGC agenda

"Al-Bashir and those who are in charge of recruitment operations were facing many difficulties and rejection by the youth of the region, who oppose any hegemony or control by the IRGC," said Deir Ezzor activist Jamil al-Abed.

But the IRGC recently has changed its tune, he told Al-Fassel, attempting to win over the local populace by giving the impression that these militias, especially the new Hashemite Tribes Regiment, "will have full independence."

Through the tribesmen loyal to it, the IRGC is carrying out "an intensive campaign to spread hatred among the people of the region," al-Abed said.

This is not limited to sowing division between Arabs and Kurds, he noted, but also incitement against tribesmen and Arabs working in the ranks of the SDF, Syrian Democratic Council and local town and village councils.

Al-Bashir tried to communicate with the tribes and notables in areas that are under SDF control, he said, but his attempts failed and he was unable to make a significant breakthrough.

"The answer that I constantly received was that the difference in views [between the tribes and the SDF], no matter how serious it gets, remains confined to the region," he said.

In other words, "the IRGC will not be allowed to take advantage of this dispute."

Al-Abed pointed out that al-Bashir sent dozens of fighters to the eastern bank of the Euphrates river to fight against the SDF "to give the impression in the media that the people of the region are the ones fighting the SDF."

"But these groups were expelled and many of them were arrested and they confessed to what they were tasked to do," he said.