Kurdish fighters surround tribal elements in northeast Syria

The US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) sent reinforcements to the eastern province of Deir az-Zour on Tuesday after tribal fighters attacked the group's military points in the town of Dhiban.

Dhiban is a town near the Iraqi border in the eastern province of Deir az-Zour, where hundreds of US troops and Syria's largest oil fields are located.

The SDF surrounded the town on Tuesday and said that it allowed civilians to evacuate before it began shelling, hoping to defeat the tribal fighters.

On Monday, fighters affiliated with tribal leader Ibrahim al-Hifl, attacked at least three SDF military points with the aim of wresting control of the town of Dhiban.

Al-Hifl issued a statement calling on "all tribes" of Deir az-Zour to fight alongside his forces against the SDF, which he dubbed "terrorists".

The majority of the tribes in Deir az-Zour did not respond to his call, with only two out of the 16 joining in on Monday's fighting.

Three members of the SDF were killed in the fighting, and at least one civilian was reported killed as a result of SDF shelling.

The skirmishes come just weeks after a greater tribal campaign against the Kurdish-led militia, with tribal fighters ousting SDF fighters from parts of north and east Deir az-Zour.

Tribal elements launched the military campaign after years of simmering resentment against the SDF.

The residents of Deir az-Zour have long complained of being marginalised under SDF rule and not receiving a fair share of oil revenues coming from the fields located in their province.

Fighting ended on 9 September, when the head of the SDF Mazloum Abdi promised to meet the demands of Arab tribes and give Deir az-Zour more representation in SDF leadership.

The SDF has said that Monday’s fighting was a result of the Syrian regime trying to undermine its rule and foment instability in the area.

In a statement on Tuesday, the SDF said that "mercenary elements" had the "aim of spreading of chaos and destabilising the security and stability of the region".

Analysts said that some of the tribal leaders' perceived alliance with the Syrian regime was creating internal divisions and causing members to distance themselves from their leaders.

"Hifl is perceived to be held by the regime and is pushing his men to escalate until the [US anti-ISIS] coalition listens to his demands. Other tribes and clans are not with Hifl, as they’re afraid he’s under regime pressure," Hassan al-Ali, a Syrian activist based in Deir az-Zour told The New Arab.

While Hifl’s manpower and access to arms is dwarfed by the well-equipped and US-backed Kurdish forces, he has the capacity to sustain low-intensity, guerrilla-style attacks going forward.

"This is the last thing the SDF needs, they already have a headache on the northern fronts," Al-Ali said, pointing to Turkey and Turkish-backed groups' agitation against the SDF in the north.