By Anas al-Bar | 2024-03-29

Tension and resentment over the presence and actions of Iran-aligned militias prevail in eastern Syria border towns, where the militias control resources and terrorize and provoke residents, local sources told Al-Fassel.

In recent months, dozens of attacks and armed clashes have occurred between tribesmen and Iran-aligned armed groups in Euphrates river valley towns.

Several protests also have been staged in these areas, with residents demanding the departure of all militias, including those aligned with or controlled by Iran, Russia and the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad.

The militias arouse anger as their actions have left the majority of the population in abject poverty and without work, said Deir Ezzor resident Hajj Abu Mahmoud, 61, who owns a vegetable store.

"Militiamen control the economy and dominate trade, lands and agricultural enterprises," he told Al-Fassel. They "steal and smuggle our resources, including oil, crops and livestock, to make more money."

The heightened presence of drugs and weapons in the area, brought in by the militias' smuggling operations, also sparked public outrage and concern, he said.

Clashes with local tribes

According to Abu Samer al-Akidi, 36, an unemployed resident of Deir Ezzor, the militias are persecuting and repressing the population.

"Their followers continually provoke the residents with offensive sectarian rhetoric," he told Al-Fassel.

Consequently, many clashes have erupted between the two sides, he said, the most violent of which was last July, when youth from the Akidat tribe attacked a Fatemiyoun Division checkpoint in al-Quriyah's al-Taas district in rural Deir Ezzor.

Two militiamen were killed and several others were wounded in the attack, which sparked heavy clashes that prompted the militias to call in reinforcements to confront the tribesmen.

The incident was preceded by intense tension and clashes, after supporters of the militias incited residents of al-Hari area in eastern Deir Ezzor to violence by chanting sectarian slogans that offended their religious beliefs.

Militias' allegiance to Iran

"The militias owe ideological allegiance to al-Wali al-Faqih (Guardian Jurist/Iranian leader Ali Khamenei) in Iran," Syrian Tribal Council spokesman Mudar al-Asaad told Al-Fassel.

They do not respect the religious faith of the local residents, and deliberately insult and provoke them to sow strife and undermine the social fabric, he said.

Local residents are livid over the behavior of these militias, who have seized some mosques and renamed them, using Iranian names or names with sectarian connotations, he added.

The militias have even renamed some villages, he said.

"They steal and smuggle oil, gas and fuel while residents complain that the shortage of these products is disrupting many work sectors," al-Asaad said.

"Farmers are currently having to rely on primitive methods to plow and irrigate their lands," he added.

"The militias also prevent residents from fishing in the Euphrates river, which is an economic lifeline for them," he said. "They forcibly take sheep and camels from shepherds and have killed a large number of truffle hunters."

Additionally, he said, the militias "are responsible for carrying out numerous assassinations, random arrests and the forced disappearance of youth, in collaboration with their ally, the al-Assad regime."

Rejection of the IRGC

The presence of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its proxies "is totally rejected by all Arab tribes and clans residing in the cities of Deir Ezzor and the Euphrates Valley," al-Asaad said.

Among them are the clans of al-Sakhani, al-Amour, Bani Khaled, al-Mawali, Albu Shaaban, al-Busbei, Anza and al-Hadidiyeen, he said, as well as Akidat, al-Bakara, Albu Leil, al-Maamara, Bani Sakhr al-Kharshan, Albu Khabour, Mu Mohsen, al-Busraya, Dhafir, al-Jaghayfa, al-Ubeid, al-Jabour and Rahba.

The villages and towns of Faydah Ibn Muwayna, Jabal al-Bishri, Ayyash, al-Mu Mohsen, al-Bughailiya and the cities of Deir Ezzor and al-Mayadeen have all witnessed clashes between locals and Iran-aligned militias, he said.