Clashes in Syria’s eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr between Arab tribal fighters and US-backed Kurdish-led separatists from the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have left several people dead and others wounded, local media say.
The exchanges of gunfire, which continued on Thursday, were among the worst in months in the region along the border with Iraq.
The clashes broke out after the US-backed and Kurdish-led SDF separatists detained several leaders and members of the Akidat clan.
Locals said SDF militants have killed several tribesmen in the village of al-Dahlah and that the US-backed separatists are seeking an ethnic conflict in eastern Syria.
They have recently arrested a number of Arab tribal leaders on spurious allegation of connection with the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.
Women in Dayr al-Zawr province, requesting anonymity for fear of reprisal, have also said SDF forces use the females as human shields, and that clashes are taking place between Arab clans and the US-backed Kurdish separatists in vast swathes of land from Diban town to the town of al-Baghouz.
The United States and its proxies have accused Arab nomads of being linked to Iran and the resistance front to justify the continued presence of American forces in Syria.
Over the past month, the area east of the Euphrates has experienced significant unrest, supported by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Political developments, including elections in Kurdish-controlled areas and potential rapprochement between Damascus and Ankara, have led to armed conflicts in northern Syria, signaling possible shifts in the region's power dynamics.
Takfiri elements, previously aligned with Turkey, have lately been attacking Turkish forces in northern Syria. Meanwhile, the Turkish military is targeting SDF positions to disrupt their US-backed plan to establish a separatist statelet in the region.