Dead, Syria – Mohammad Khalawi explains the scars left by many conquerors that many of the civil war have passed through during the 13 years of the civil war, the destruction of the Dir Zur province of Syria.
In this resource-rich eastern province, Khalawi saw Syrian President Bashar Assad’s rebel royalists in 2012 and was replaced by jihadist fighters, and ISIS militants were quickly kicked out by ISIS militants.
One of many destroyed communities in Deir al-Zour, Syria.
It is here that the ISIS has been deeply rooted, turning Deir al-Zour into a pastoral of oil and gas to fund the caliphs of extremist groups, backed by Russian air strikes and militia created by Iran before two rivals (the Syrian government), as well as Kurd-led Militia and a Kurd-led Mileitia, and with USIS as ISIS, to beat ISIS in 2019.
Here, the day before Assad’s detention in December, Khalawi watched thousands of soldiers and pro-Iranian fighters flee to Iraq and placed his position on the Kurdish militia. A few days later, the Kurds also left.
“Everyone passes by this place,” Haraway said. “These groups are not working for us here. They are robbing and stealing everything here.”
Each new force is drawn on the publicity posters and badges of its predecessors, making the province’s buildings the greatest extent to which the war winners and losers are.
In Hirri, a small village nestled between the Euphrates River and Iraqi border, Harawi points out the faded silhouette of the Islamic State logo on the wall. Nearby is a banner with the words “Death to Israel,” an artifact where Iran-backed militia controlled his neighbors. Next to it is the red, white and black color of the Assad era government, which is also the defiled poster of Assad.
Khalawi, an accountant in the Hirri municipality, has now witnessed another makeover, this time by the Islamic rebels who removed Assad late last year. For nearly two months since taking power, the new government, led by Islamic faction Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, has been busy putting its mark on the province, reclaiming outposts and militia headquarters, renovating the infrastructure and painting with symbols from Rebel Group.
The market in Bukamal, Syria’s Deir al-Zour province, comes back to life after Bashar Assad’s ouster in December 2024.
Khalawi is optimistic – so far. Like many here, he saw Assad’s fall as a harbinger of a new beginning in Syria, as well as the province of Deir al-Zour.
Although the war has calmed down in much of the country, Deir al-Zour, divided by the Euphrates, remains a hostage to competitive ambitions.
The area by the river (where most of the province’s oil and water resources are located) is controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces or the SDF, a U.S.-backed Kurdish-ruling government
The territory west of the river is in the hands of the new government. ISIS sleeper cells await opportunities somewhere in the province’s desert shadow.
Israeli air strikes at Deir al-Zour airport.
The U.S. has a 2,000-man force in the region, which it says is entirely intended to deal with a possible revival of the Islamic state and to protect the prisons operated by the SDF and the camps that hold thousands of ISIS loyalists. However, the SDF has used its partnership with Washington to build a primitive country in northeastern Syria, which has refused to dissolve despite the new government in Damascus.
This angered Türkiye, which supported the rebels now control Syria. Türkiye believes that the SDF is a branch of the Workers’ Kurdish Party, which is marked as a terrorist organization. Türkiye threatens to launch an offensive to destroy the group.
Syria’s fledgling leaders must browse through this maze. It requires the U.S. to raise sanctions on Syria as it tries to revitalize the oil and agricultural wealth in the Northeast.
“We have enough people in the SDF area to take them without even needing bullets. But the Americans are there and we can’t fight them.
Al-Deyri gave his nom de guerre to protect his family from revenge, and he was one of many commanders of Hayat Tahrir Al Sham who could not return to his village in Deir al-Zour as it was still under the control of the SDF. He believes that the SDF is a little better than the Assad government, and that the Kurdish minority imposes domination and ideology on the Arab majority.
He said: “Unless my village is liberated from SDF, the joy of expelling Assad can be accomplished.”
So far, officials of the Provisional Government have promoted a peaceful approach. Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa said in an interview with Syrian TV that negotiations with the SDF were underway, adding that “there is a disagreement still exists.”
Deir al-Zour is one of many destroyed communities. Among the toughest people in the Syrian civil war, the city suffered from long-term power outages and water shortages.
A resolution is needed in Deir al-Zour. In the provincial capital, the entire community is wasted. Electricity is less than an hour every six hours, a result of war damage to the generators, and because the SDF controls the gas field and refuses to provide more electricity.
Water shortages are frequent. Residents, many of whom have returned to rubble-stacked houses, are desperately in need of opportunities.
“I am a computer research teacher. Now, we are back in the era of riding pigeons. “We are very tired. We can’t fight more. ”
Ahmad Al-Ali, a 20-year-old nursing student, now shot on the building to help his wife and two children and his parents pay for it.
“I can do this kind of work because I’m young. But my parents are teachers and there is no school to go back. What will they do?” he said.
There are concerns that any battle between the SDF and the government will see ISIS exploiting a security vacuum. Analysts say that despite a huge reduction in extremist groups, it maintained about 5,000 combatants and could target prisons and camps to release detainees U.S. military officials call “ISIS troops waiting for.”
“In Turkey or the government’s offensive, it’s impossible to explicitly switch prisons,” said Mohammed Saleh Al-Ftayeh, a political researcher at Deir al-Zour. “When the SDF sees troops crossing the Euphrates, it will open the door to the cell and let the Turks or anyone deal with it.”
Türkiye said it has begun preliminary negotiations with regional governments to fight the ISIS and the new Syrian government will be held accountable to ISIS prisoners. All of this allows the United States to stay in touch with the SDF, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said at a press conference in Doha, Qatar on Sunday.
“We hope President Trump can make the right decision, and it’s wrong,” he said.
Haraway disdained.
“The regime, Iranians, Russians, Kurds, coalitions – every aspect of coming here is based on the excuse of ISIS,” he said. “It’s all a charm.”
