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WASHINGTON —New clashes erupted Friday between U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces and Iran-backed Syrian government forces in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour, a war monitor and local sources reported.
The fighting began when Syrian government forces and their allied militias launched mortar attacks against positions belonging to the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, in the restive province, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
A resident in the area told VOA that SDF fighters responded by firing at the source of the attacks, using mortars and light weapons. The resident, who requested anonymity for security reasons, said several SDF fighters sustained light wounds in the clashes, but the Syrian Observatory said there were no confirmed reports of casualties on either side.
Control of Deir el-Zour is divided between the two sides, with the SDF ruling the eastern side of the Euphrates River, while the western side is controlled by Syrian government forces and Iranian-backed militias. Iran has been a staunch sponsor of Syrian government forces since the beginning of the country's conflict in 2011.
Deir el-Zour province was a major stronghold for the Islamic State terror group until 2019, when SDF troops, aided by a U.S.-led global coalition, ended IS's so-called caliphate in eastern Syria.
In recent weeks, there has been an increase in confrontations between the two sides. In August, a Syrian government paramilitary group called the National Defense Forces carried out an attack on SDF-controlled parts of Deir el-Zour, killing several civilians, according to local news reports. In response, the SDF launched a major attack, killing at least 20 government troops.
The SDF is a Kurdish-led military alliance that has been a major U.S. partner in the fight against the Islamic State terror group. As part of their continued efforts to combat IS remnants, the U.S. has about 900 troops in northeast Syria, including in Deir el-Zour.
Hoshang Hasan, a reporter at the local North Press agency who closely covers events in eastern Syria, said Syrian government forces and allied Iranian militias have made clear that their goal is to destabilize the situation in Deir el-Zour.
"They are determined to keep this region unstable, and to do that they have been attempting continuously to push out the U.S. forces in the area," he told VOA.
Since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza in October 2023, bases housing U.S. and coalition forces in eastern Syria have been targeted by Iranian-backed militias dozens of times.
Jonathan Spyer, director of research at the Philadelphia-based Middle East Forum, said there was a need for increased U.S. military support to the SDF to maintain the status quo in the region.
"The goal of the Iran-supported militias in maintaining pressure on the U.S. and its allies is clearly to precipitate a U.S. withdrawal," he told VOA, adding that "such a withdrawal would remove a major barrier to Iranian control and smuggling and movement of forces from Iraq into Syria and Lebanon in the event of an all-out war against Israel."
"The current uptick in pressure [in eastern Syria] can't be separated from the more general partial mobilization of Iran-supported forces in the region in the context of the Gaza war," he underscored.
This story originated in VOA's Kurdish Service.