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Another group of Jaysh Maghawir al-Thawra members have defected to Syrian government forces from the US-controlled at-Tanf garrison in southeastern Syria, near the border with Iraq. This was the second group of Jaysh Maghawir al-Thawra fighters that defected to the Syrian army in less than a month.
Meanwhile, Abu Omar al-Homsi, head of the media office of Shohadaa al-Qraiteen Brigade said that the US-led coalition had threatened to bomb the group’s HQs and positions if it rejected to return arms and equipment received from the coalition.
“The threats came as a result of the battle launched by the brigade on July 17 against the Hezbollah militia and the Syrian regime forces, which managed to control the mountains of “al-Ghorab and al-Halba”. This angered the coalition, which refuses to open any battles against the Syrian regime in the region, al-Homsi added.
Al-Homsi confirmed that the brigade’s leadership will not return arms back, consisting of “Toyota cars, medium weapons, light weapons and a number of lorry vehicles to the international coalition, and will continue to use them against the Syrian regime.”
Shohadaa al-Qraiteen Brigade announced a few days ago it stopped receiving support from the international coalition because of the latter’s refusal to provide ammunition and weapons in the battles against the Syrian regime, and only to provide it in battles against IS organization,” the pro-militant alDorars website reported.
In late July Shohadaa al-Qraiteen Brigade was excluded from the coalition-backed forces as a result of the group’s willingness to fight only the Syrian army and to ignore any ISIS threat.
With the recent developments, it becomes clear that the so-called US partner force in At Tanf does not more exist, as any kind of united entity. The US-led coalition uses the pretext of support of this unexisting force allegedly fighting ISIS to justify their presence on the Syrian-Iraqi border.
