Insurgents capture key town in eastern Syria from Syrian Kurds

The insurgents announced on Wednesday that they had seized control of the city of Deir al-Zur, in northeastern Syria and capital of the province of the same name, from Syrian Kurdish forces, while continuing to advance their offensive in that area of ​​the country.

Lieutenant Colonel Hasan Abdelghani, who acts as military spokesman for the insurgent coalition, said on the official account of the Military Operations Command that his forces “have taken complete control of the city of Deir al Zur.”

He also indicated that his units continue to advance in the areas and towns on the outskirts of the city of Deir al Zur, located east of the Euphrates River, "after taking control of the city center, as well as the western and eastern outskirts" of the city.

Three days ago, the insurgent group led by the Levant Liberation Organization - the former Syrian affiliate of Al Qaeda that overthrew the regime of Bashar al Assad - announced that they had entered that city.

Last night, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led armed alliance, began to withdraw from the center of the city of Deir al-Zour, coalition spokesman Farhad Shami told EFE.

The SDF reported on Friday that its units had been deployed in the eastern Syrian city of Deir al-Zour after the Syrian army and Iranian militias withdrew from the city.

The Kurdish-Syrian-led alliance, which also includes Arabs and Assyrians, said the control of the town was carried out to protect the city from “mercenary groups affiliated with the Turkish occupation,” referring to the insurgent coalition that includes rebels backed by Ankara, as well as out of fear that the Islamic State would regroup and expand its territory.

The FSD are enemies of Türkiye, although they have reached out to it in recent days to “peacefully resolve” their differences. EFE