(SANA via AP)
Tensions are growing between Syrian government forces and US-backed forces in the Syrian province of Deir Ezzor as the both sides are competing for the countryside of the provincial capital.
Late on Friday, a commander of the Deir Ezzor Military Council [a part of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces], Ahmed Abu Khawla, claimed that US-backed force will not allow the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies to cross the Euphrates River.
“We have notified the regime [Syrian government] and Russia that we are coming to the Euphrates riverbank, and they can see our forces advancing,” he said, according to Reuters. “We do not allow the regime or its militias to cross to the eastern riverbank.”
The US-led coalition and its Kurdish-dominated coalition of various militias known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are seeking to divide eastern Syria into two parts using the Euphrates River as a kind of separation line or even to capture additional areas on the western bank of Euphrates if they get a chance.
The SDF launched its advance against ISIS north of Deir Ezzor after the SAA crushed a main ISIS force in the area in a fierce battle southwest of the city. Since then, the SDF has made a notable gains and reached Deir Ezzor city from the northern direction.
Click to see the full-size map
However, the internationally recognized Syrian government, backed up by Iran and Russia, is not going to drop its plans to re-capture all possible areas that are now under the control of ISIS.
Pro-Kurdish/US sources denied this claim. Considering the ongoing media blackout in an area of the Euphrates River near Deir Ezzor city nothing could be said decisively. No side has provided photos or videos confirming the river was crossed or was not crossed by government troops.
Later, an aide to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Bouthaina Shaaban, said that government forces will fight against any terrorist or illegitimate foreign force in its effort to liberate the whole country.
“Whether it’s the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), or Daesh [ISIS] or any illegitimate foreign force in the country… we will fight and work against them so our land is freed completely from any aggressor,” she said in an exclusive interview with Lebanon-based al-Manar television network.
She added that the SDF has gained areas north of Deir Ezzor from ISIS “without any fighting,” highlighting that the SDF just used the SAA operation against ISIS in Deir Ezzor to seize oil-rich areas east of the city.
On Saturday, clashes continued in the countryside of Deir Ezzor as the SAA and the Syrian Republican Guard further pushed against ISIS northeast and southwest of the city. Earlier, they liberated Huwaijat, Muraieiah and Ayyash near the city expanding their control over the river bank.
This operation shows that the SAA is not going to push towards the Iraqi border soon. Instead, government forces are focusing on consolidating their gains in the Deir Ezzor countryside and crushing ISIS units remaining in the area.
Click to see the full-size map
Calm heads required it seems.
that went away when JFKennedy lost his head.
The US and SDF have no legal right to occupy Syrian territory. Therefore, Assad has no choice but to kick them out. Putin knows this and the Russians have prepared accordingly. Expect the RuAF to play a role here with the Russian Fleet based Kalibr cruise missiles. Key SDF targets will be taken out during the next week. If the US Coalition air forces react one can expect some, if not all of them, to be shot down. The US and its allies will have no leg to stand on under International Law.
I hope you’re right I would love to see US jets that bomb the SAA blown out of the air but there is zero chance Russia would do that. The SAA should simply ignore the SDF & get on with their own mission to clear Isis & secure the oil fields as quickly as possible before reaching the border with Iraq
Andy these are fair comments and I’d agree with your general synopsis of the situation, However, the stakes for the US “Deep State”, Israel and Saudi Arabia are now “sky high” as their entire Middle East Strategy is coming apart at the seams with enormous consequences for: 1) the State of Israel and their agenda, to Balkanize and perpetually weaken the Arab States and to prevent the formation as they see it of the “Shiite Crescent” from Iran to Lebanon; 2) the International Bankster Cabal’s plan to control Middle Eastern oil reserves to underpin their global currency “the US$” which is now on the descent to worthlessness given the fact that more countries will be trading oil in gold backed Yuan; 3) Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) four supergiant oil field’s – Ghawar, Abqaiq, Safaniya and Berri are now getting close to exhaustion and given the large fall in oil prices from US$ 115 / bbl to the current US$ 50 / bbl and at some stage as low as US$ 30 / bbl the KSA is in deep financial and increasing socio – economic problems. Hence, the KSA is desperate for replacement oil reserves, which lie in Iraq (Mosul and Kirkuk), Syria along the Euphrates basin and in Yemen – see the USGS website and Google “USGS Petroleum Resources Bulletins” for detailed and high quality reports.
Given the foregoing, one can see the stakes are “sky high” for geopolitical, economic and financial reasons. The Russians, Syrians and Iranians know this and they like the US cannot afford to back down. This time around, the US has no mandate under International Law to be there and to bomb Syrian forces is an “act of war”. The Russians have not brought in MiG 29’s for amusement. These aircraft are intended to be used and they are sending the US a very clear warning. If the US or its coalition partners now bomb the SAA, “the preverbial will now hit the fan” and the Russians intend to fully document it from Satellite imagery in real time, AWAC’s, on ground radar monitoring, drones and other surveillance techniques. So the US and its Coalition partners will be well and truly trapped as the agrgressor.
However, having said all this, the stakes are now so great that the US “Deep State” (read International Bankster – Corporatist Cabal) is now so desperate that they may risk all and “hope to get away with it” through their wholly owned and totally compliant and corrupt “Western Media”, which includes ll the main culprits such as the BBC, CNN, MNBC, Deutsche Welle, France 2 and the list goes on plus the MSM newspapers. These controlled propaganda organs have already been prepping the readership / viewers for war, so many people are already pyschologically brainwashed and prepped.
Thank you for your most erudite overview of issues in Syria.
Thanks FG!
“Syria’s proven oil reserves were estimated to be 2.5 billion barrels (Gbbl) by yearend 2012. The U.S. Geological Survey estimated that the Levant Basin, where the largest oilfield discoveries—the Tamar and Leviathan fields—are found, contains about 3.5 trillion cubic meters of recoverable gas and about 1.7 Gbbl of technically recoverable oil.
The U.S. Geological Survey estimated that the Levant Basin, where the largest oilfield discoveries—the Tamar and Leviathan fields—are found,
contains about 3.5 trillion cubic meters of recoverable gas and about 1.7 Gbbl of technically recoverable oil.”
https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/country/2013/myb3-2013-sy.pdf
Only a relatively small proportion of the Levant Basin is in Syria’s territorial waters. Most of it sits within Israel’s and Lebanon’s territorial waters.
Syria’s proven oil reserves place it at #31 in the world’s proven oil reserves. Iraq is ranked at #5.
Syria’s proven gas reserves rank it at #45 in the world.
Syria’s oil reserves place it at #31, but close enough:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_proven_oil_reserves
There is more potential, but once again it’s lack of investment and application of modern petroleum exploration geophysics such as “State of the Art” 3D seismic. This has been caused by years of conflict, either internally or with Israel.
As I also said #31 I was indeed “close enough” :-)
The #45 is for actual gas not the US slang term “gas” for oil
Thanks Graeme! This makes good sense to me. The major reserves of light sweet crude are in Iraq at Kirkuk and Mosul and between those two fields, which have not been fully explored by the most modern geophysical techniques (mainy updated 3 D seismic) due to almost 40 years of war and massive under-investment.
Absolutely 100% right on!
They are supplying the SU25sm3 to Syria once the pilots complete their training, they have the Sulet 25 which can hit the target in any type of weather.
No way they can ignore SDF.
Agreed!
SDF has legal right and they called for help, when Assad was not able to. It’s a joke, what you say. It’s like i left my bride alone for a month because of a europe trip with my friends, and i came back to my bride, and asked her whats up. (Pls. think logically) that’s what i feel in every Assad interview.
Kurds are not from syria, they are iranian…
The assryians have a higher “Legal Right” that you so want to hide behind when things don’t go your way, but blatantly ignore when you have the power…
And the kurds are an obama project…
Rubbish.
He was a Kurd.
Wrong! Assad was democratically elected as President of Syria and is even more popular now than he was when the conflict started. We’re all totally exhausted with US “Regime Change” operations, which 99 times out a 100 are bogus and contrived to implant a complaint “puppet regime” and control the country after the US has bombed it to oblivion. The US reconstruction companies then roll in to reconstruct the flattened infractructure and services at an immense profit for firms such as Brown Root and Halliburton. This is exactly what Naomi Klein termed “Disaster Capitalism”. The US is run by corrupt and evil people who put the Communists and Nazi’s in the shade when it comes to the scale of their crimes.
The US’s new strategy for the last 25 years has been the creation of CIA trained and supplied “Proxy Armies” to fight the US’ foreign wars. The CIA and the M
Thats not democrasy at all. it majority rule, where they can do anything they want with the rest and has for many years.
Only Jihadists was left as opposition, because they are not afraid of dying and get a good life afterwards.
Wow , this is rich coming from a European where democracy can be silenced by corrupt officials and bureaucrats who think they have the right to rule over the masses. Sounds like you exposed yourself as an elitist “it’s majority rule, where they can do anything they want with the rest and has for many years” sounds like democracy to me.
This is how you expose your support for minority terrorist groups”Only Jihadists was left as opposition, because they are not afraid of dying and get a good life afterwards.” , see how you expose yourself as Terrorist backer against the majority. You are definitely against democracy both those statements prove you are in strong opposition too it.
Seems you are Anarchist Communist troll at heart and want to see the destruction of free thought and expression by the majority, only your opinion counts and no others which makes you a died in the wool Fascist-Anarcho-Communist.
Well said my friend.
Reality is a great leveller of hubris as the US /UK are now finding out.
The SDF has no legal right at all.
they are US trained terrorists like the Taliban or PKK.
Maybe i just don’t understand what you say. SDF which represent the Kurds and some Arabs has no legal right to live in Syria. So make a genocide, if you wish against Nothern-Syria.
They have none at all, like their US/Zionist masters have no right at all. The elected Syrian government and president never left. They were attacked by the US/Zionist terror squads of ISIS which suddenly changed skin and flag and morophed into SDF to suddenly control much of Northern Syria. The SDF are a foreign illegal mercenary colonial invasion force controlled under US/Zionist colonial powers comand created to steal Syria’s resources, with ISIS as their front line terror Sturm Troopers tasked with clearing the way for the colonial invasion forces.
Ah! And let’s not forget how many times ISIS were given air support by the so called US coalition, murdering in one instance more than 80 Syrian government forces in Deir Ezzir itself which propelled the US proxies of ISIS to control much of Deir Ezzur. That is what brought us to this stand off between the sole legitimate Syrian government forces with the rebranded illegal seditious US proxy terrorists of ISIS now conveniely called SDF.
The US better get out of Syria before they are thrown out, Pete. I can see Turkey, Iran, Syria and Iraq working together with Russia to get the US out once and for all from the whole region. Enough of these blood-thirsty games in Syria. It is time to go home and play some baseball. If the US played cricket they would get the message, but the ignorant colonials never learnt.
Time to declare the Syrian innings or do want to be bowled for a duck by Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Russia?
Or is the US prepared to lose NATO Turkey while backing the Kurds?
Brits got a lot of right to talk empire to the Americans. LOL.
Yes, amazing that the once mighty UK is a slave state to the US. Nearly all out leaders work for this foreign government and are committing treason to the British people. Our leaders are total US a….. lickers. Truly disgusting!
The British are the absolute champions in the art of duplicity, obfuscation, procrastination, lying and masking their devious hidden agenda’s. They are still, to this day, exploitative Colonialists and are little more than manipualtive and greedy “buccaneers” with polished accents acquired at expensive schools wearing pin stripped suits. All this shady behavoir is hidden behind a facade of decency and the pageantry and grandeur of the “Royal Family”, who, with the Rothschild’s, lie at the heart of the Global Conspiracy. The “mother of democracies” is rapidly morphing into a fascist police State like the USA. Behind its public mask, Britain remains the “Perfidious Albion” .
The actions of the SDF are totally illegal as this has been the call by the UN and they have asked even the SDF to give up on it’s goal. The US and a few countries don’t make the UNGA which is where this vote would be. Something you forget since the MSM decided to block it from your mind is that the SAA was well entrenched in the North and had held ISIS off, until it had to go to Damascus. What happened later was the SDF fell back against the ISIS onslaught until the US had sent help in the region which Issa Abu had requested the help as he was the leader of the FSA.
You need to know the chronology of everything before you assume to know much, go back to the beginning ,this will give you a clearer picture.This is why we have history to look back at so we try not to make the same mistakes again.
very well said
US-SDF-Israel have of course NO single right to operate in Syria, the less to invade, conquer and steal land, not to speak of the ethnic cleansing of native Syrian population!
They dont. ISIS did.
CIA created ISIS.
And that’s a fact!
The Russians are still running Syrian express to Tartourus and are sending more munitions and equipment constantly ,Yamal is on it’s 8th run.
Correct!
Complaining to the UN but then the UN will say “but u have no legal mandate to be in Syria”!
Thats if the UN does its job!
My guess is the Syria was divided up months ago in an agreement between the Russians and the US / Israeli factions.
Then it should have been the SDF that should have gone for Deir-Ez-Zor, as they said they would. Did you really expect the SAA to get to Deir-Ez-Zor so fast?
Yes, I think so. But the Russians just use those kind of things to delay. Which is good, in this case. One WW3, coming up!
i think at this point, it does not make any sense to speculate the black area is quite symetric, it’s some sort of bat. I think at this point Afrin status is questionable, everything else, does not really matter. SDF would be a hard enemy at this point, don’t forget they rule quite a big chunk, Assad is less than 50%, and all the enemy remained with Russia’s help. It needs another years to get back all the country. I’m not sure Assad really want that to happen. Russia would like to end this war as soon as possible, very likely that’s why they pushed Deir Ezzor so hard. It takes months, but i don’t think, Russia want another one year or so. Without Russia’s and USA help, very likely the whole country would have been an ISIS state by now. Don’t forget, if USA wouldn’t help to SDF, they wouldn’t even dare to fight for Raqqa, and it’s really painfull.
On the flip side, if the Americans hadn’t got involved in Syria in the first place there’d be no war now and there’s be no ISIS and the Kurds wouldn’t have thought to try and steal land from Syria.
As for “SDF would be a hard enemy”, that only holds true if America continues it’s illegal operations in Syria after ISIS is gone, if they leave then the SAA can drive the SDF back across the river and then bomb their defences. From there, crossing the river becomes a reasonably simple matter and the SAA can use their armour in the same hugely successful manner they have against America’s other proxies.
Thats mainly corect, but You forget US and friends started having Assads as enemy nr 1. Now 20 of 27 gas attacks are proved being done by Assads and only small ones has been possible by others.
So phase 2 should probatly be Assads becomes enemy nr 1 again.
You are speaking complete RUBBISH as usual Jens.
indeed, I would prefer Southfront to block these kurdish trolls.
At least Free Speech for all here enables us to discern for ourselves what the true facts are. Living in a bubble is not really healthy, despite the all too obvious shills here. They give us a bit of entertainment as well :)
Although they are propaganda (“Now 20 of 27 gas attacks are proved being done by Assads and only small ones has been possible by others”) let’s say if true (which it is not) what are the number of fatalities and displaced citizens from this compared to the proxy wars of Empire and greater Israel?
There are no comparisons to justify the hundreds of millions affected not only in Syria but globally including the citizens of the west (US, UK and EU) lost of treasure, commons and inalienable rights. The actions of a transnational criminal cabal and its vassals will be brought to account as the crimes are being exposed there is no doubt.
The theater of the absurd has been exposed, the facts are there supported by the criminal cabals’ Orwellian “Ministry of Truth” lies and propaganda. It is quickening as is the Syrian resolution in the micro and the multilateral powers of projects separate and divorced from uni-power Empire. To deny this is to deny reality itself, it will not stand.
Well said.
USA should mind its own business and should not be in Syria at all. Its and Invasion in my opinion and we all let them do as they want. The US and Saudi Arabia Turkey Israel have all been there to prop up ISIS by supplying them with all those big Guns and Tanks. Time for the Yanks to go home and look after their own borders not looking for more regime change puppets that suits their agenda’s.
The US will NEVER give up on their IS pets. They are just too useful, aren’t they? Did you read about the US airlift of IS commanders from Deir-Ez-Zor?
yes, there were SAS with them.
The belief that the SDF are a hard enemy just ask the handful of ISIS who can inflict heavy casualties on them how good they are. The SDF is one extremely besotted Ragtag militia their hubris is great but crumbles without any strong backers as was evidenced when the SAA went to defend Damascus.The Syrian Government is very much interested in securing their Sovereign territory and stop saying Assad you sound like MSM Stooge when you do that. SAA only lacked air support which no it’s getting it’s own planes and helicopters and the latest Tanks from Russia. Russia and Iran are very much interested in keeping the rule of international law observed by the US/Israel/Coalition forces which many have left the US and France there . Thinking the US is there out of altruism is something only an extremely naive person wold say all you would have to do is look at their past for 70 years is long but go back 40 years and you will see.
Recommend you go to the CIA’s FOIA library and read their old plans there it will give you a perspective also.
you are forgetting that the US created and armed ISIS in the first place. the plan was to let ISIS CONQUER syria first. as for Irak they actually asked for Russian help, but this was strongly opposed by the US who still illegally occupy they country after having illegally attacked and destroyed it.
Do another air drop to support the SAA that crossed the river: at the roadway that follows the Euphrates near Khusam…
That’s what I would do.
Plus another river crossing at muraydin.
With or without parashuters.
Ze hebben nieuwe helikopters Mi8 makkelijk om de luchtavens te maken.
Laten we hopen.
bedoel jij om de luchthavens veilig te stellen?
The special forces and ISIS hunters were already air dropped on Tuesday why the US and the SDF made the threat on Wednesday. The airport was being secured and prepped by engineers they needed forward eyes on the SDF advance to keep the river bank secure from them. That way they could direct fire if US/SDF terrorists tried attacking DE, wouldn’t look pretty for them.
They also have closer airbases now to support in the area this should help with them securing Syria. They had out the new MIG 29smt jets flying air cover with SU 25s and SU 35s they had the air support , the US had watched them cross via satellite.
the dumb sdf are sacrifices for the evil zio satanic terrorists …. they will be left to fight for the nwo if saa coalition pushes forward irregardless …. victory will be in saa’s hands soonest
I thought that the SAA and Company would have made a move for the river on Monday or Tuesday. Later, I was thinking that something else may be in play here. Basically the SAA is gaining control of the N4 highway on the southern bank of the river. No such highway, at least according to the maps I see, exists on the north side. Hence they have a dimension of flexiblity on their side that the SDF does not. There are tons of other factors in the mix, that make the SDF move for the energy fields kind of pointless.
I am also wondering if what is going on over in DE with the SDF, may not be universally backed by SDF/YPG in other places. Just because one commander says so, may not make it truly something across the board. the SAA and allies, have constantly surpized all others. I should probably just sit tight and observe what goes down over the next couple of weeks. It will determine a lot, as others have stated here, on how things are going to flow in the middle east. I wish well to all.
Charles Darwin didnt say the strongest win. He said the winners were those, which were able to change.
So the loosers there will be Assads, ISIS, Jihadist, shia iraqians as well as most Turks.
So far the losers have been ISIS and Jihadists! Does that prove Darwin wrong? Of course not, he is taking about the evolutionary development of animals under different conditions, not about political an military issues.
You are wrong again. The change is coming fast to the Western nations that are drowning in debt and deviant behaviour that has destroyed all Empires and even some civilisations in history.
Even Denmark was powerful once :)
Sure, Assad lost, after winning Aleppo, Palmyra and now Deir-Ez-Zor. Very strange kind of losing, isn’t it?
Face it, the disgusting actions of the US/EU/NATO/GCC/Israel gang has been well and truly exposed in Syria. They better get out before they are thrown out by new alliance of Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, all backed up by the might of Russia.
I hope they record the last helicopter evacs of the US “elite special forces” as they run from Assad in the dark of night, after the murderous stink they have created in secular Syria.
Well said …. Now, the message to the world is, don’t mess with Russia in this region. Previously, the message was don’t mess with Israel because they control the World’s only Super Power, with their Israeli Lobby in Washington.
Remember….the victors always write the history books.Twenty years from now the world
will look back and say: “remember that guy Netanyahu ? …. ha, ha, ha and a ha, ha, ha,”
Did Putin plan this all out ahead of time? If so, this guy is the smartest guy on the planet. He got revenge for what the neocons did to the Ukraine several times over.
ultimately the U.S. and Russia will destroy each other, which is the goal of the satanic globalists (take out two Christian countries).
You seem to have forgotten China as they were prepared to send troops and equipment like Russia.
yes, SAS will be with the, lapdog poodle of the U.S. Brits.
Lol thats funny
The Iraqi kurds will have their referendum at 29th September. The result will be a threat to Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria, as it would encourage all kurds to fight for a unified Kurdistan. Iraq will never accept a division of the country. So we will see the next round in this endless war, kurds against all others. Strange alliances will come up, as Turkey supports the Peshmerga, but needs to fight kurds anywhere else. The US and Israel support the kurds as an instrument to fuel the war and to fight Iran. I presume that we will see shiit militias, Hezbollah and the regular armies of Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran against kurds. It will be a massacre. It will be a final solution for a free Kurdistan. But not as the kurds want.
The Kurds are far far far away from their homeland, for example, with their big
adventure down to Deir Ez Zor and elsewhere in the region.. Take a look at this map below. For example, look at the Euphrates on the map. There are
absolutely no Kurds living in Deir Ez Zor province. There are other areas just like this that the Kurds have no business being.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/daf0d4bbc4765ec7967105d1abc2198f0e78c177d16d895d440ff6f964a351f0.jpg
…
I know, but who cares? As long as the kurds are motivated to conquer a “Great Kurdistan” and the US supplies the weapons, they will move forward.
the honorable people
SAA’s pushing out Rt. 7 east to the border. From there, the confrontation with the U.S. backed SDF can proceed with Iraq attacking west to Rt. 7 and up to the north to al Hasakah, and the SAA bringing the fight to Raqqa and from Deir Ezzor north to meet up with PMU’s. Let’s go, SAA!
Both U.S. and Russia are either drawing lines of battle or the Russians have already acquiesced to the U.S. in allowing Saddam’s former Ba’athist military leadership the eastern part of Syria and the upper northeast tip to the Kurds (maybe).
I don’t think it will work out that way and battle lines will commence. WW3, coming up.
The Kurds must realize that until Syria is stablized, their own issues cannot be addressed. Turkey needs to remain stable as well. No lasting resolution can take place until then.
KiraSeer
I hope they do eventually retake all land up to the Iraqi border after clearing daesh scum from Dez, and I hope they push back and ultimately eliminate SDF as well!!!
let us hope for a Syria entirely liberated from terrorists-invaders
Murder Inc must leave immediately all of Syria in its entirety.
“We do not allow the regime or its militias to cross to the eastern riverbank.”
Filthy kurdish pig. The arrogance…. Clearly he has been the recipient of US “training”.
Russia is indeed deep panic about SDF advances east of the Euphrates.
Fabricating “official stories” about russian forces crossing the river, bombing SDF forces east of the river.
They and Assadists are striking around because they know they have lost this part of the game and they are too weak to prevent SDF, defending northern Syria when SAA just left the area, liberating the lasts parts of it.
Now they are claiming laws while they were abandoning the north east, they were claiming necessity.
Soon SDF will have beaten IS in Raqqah, freeing up most of the 50k fighters involved in that fight. While some of them may go north and west, many will be deployed in DeZ cs and will overrun that area.
SAA being so weak they have to ask Turkey and its mercenaries to invade Idlib, its sworn enemies, never to regain those lands again when it is incorperated into Turkeys Azaz colony.
isn’t it funny how the SDF say “they won’t let the SAA cross the Euphrates” yet here they are in Tabaqah and then bombed the SAA for coming too close!
The nerve of these people to say the Syrian Army can’t cross a river to liberate its own lands and resources!
Fuck em, they want the oil, they can fight for it!
If they want a Kurdish state that spans across Iraq and Syria (and I’m sure soon to be turkey and Iran) then they will unify these nations and be completely fucked!