BEIRUT: Pro-Syrian government forces repelled an attack by US-backed rebels in Deir Ezzor province, a day after deadly clashes in the eastern region bordering Iraq, a Syria war monitor said on Wednesday.

The renewed violence in conflict-wracked Syria has killed hundreds and seen second city Aleppo slip from the government’s hands.

In the area of clashes in Deir Ezzor, partially controlled by the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a “cautious calm” prevailed on Wednesday after Syrian government forces staved off the advance of SDF-allied fighters, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor.

The clashes since Tuesday morning, accompanied by US air strikes, were in a cluster of seven government-controlled villages located east of the Euphrates — the only ones outside SDF control on the river’s eastern bank in the area, the observatory said.

Moscow says Russia, Iran, Turkiye in ‘close contact’ over situation

The Britain-based observatory reported “16 dead including two civilians” since the SDF-allied Deir Ezzor military council launched the attack on government forces and allies.

The toll includes 11 soldiers and pro-government fighters, and three from the Deir Ezzor council, the observatory added.

Control of Deir Ezzor province is split between the SDF to the east of the Euphrates River, and the Syrian government forces and Iran-backed fighters to the west.

According to the Observatory, the small cluster of villages where fighting took place on Tuesday is strategically important, being a direct point of contact with SDF-held areas.

The villages are also located near a US military base in the Conoco gas field.

Russia, Iran and Turkiye are in “close contact” over the conflict in Syria, Moscow said on Wednesday.

“The foreign ministers of the three guarantor countries — Russia, Iran and Turkiye — are in close contact with each other,” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters.

Intense Russian and Syrian air strikes and the arrival of pro-Syria government reinforcements drove Syrian insurgents back overnight from the edge of Hama, a major city whose fall could pile pressure on President Bashar al-Assad, both sides said on Wednesday.

State media and the observatory said there had been intense fighting over Jabal Zain al-Abidin, a hill 5km northeast of Hama and overlooking a major road into the city.

Abu Al-Qaqaa, a rebel commander in the area, said: “We were forced to retreat under heavy enemy bombardment by air.” Another rebel source cited the failure to capture Jabal Zain al-Abidin as a setback in the insurgents’ advance on Hama.

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2024