COMMANDER OF BIGGEST ARAB TRIBAL FORCE DEFECTS FROM SDF AND JOIN SYRIAN ARMY

On December 8, Yasser Dahla, a commander of the Arab al-Bagharah tribe forces in the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), defected with its fighters and joined the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), according to opposition and pro-government sources. A field commander of al-Bagharah tribe forces named Abu al-Majad al-Rifi was also among those who had defected from the SDF, according to reports.

The Al-Bagarah tribe is the biggest tribe in eastern Syrian and was one of the key Arab allies of the SDF. However, tensions between the tribe and the SDF erupted when SDF fighters looted the tribe’s villages on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River.

Later, opposition sources reported that the tension between al-Bagharah tribe and the SDF reached a dangerous level when the SDF leadership ignored the the tribe’s leaders demand to put an end to the looting during a meeting on November 27.

Dahla himself was reportedly arrested with four of his fighters on October 1 after refusing to obey the orders of the SDF leadership. Back then, many locals saw the arrest of Dahla as an insult to the al-Bagharah tribe.

While the defect of Dahla and his fighters will not change the military situation in eastern Syria, it will certainly damage the SDF image as a “Syrian” force. The defect of Dahla will also encourage other Arab elements in the SDF who don’t agree with the Kurdish Democratic Party (PYD) policies to defect.

Comments

Why States Still Use Barrel Bombs

Smoke ascends after a Syrian military helicopter allegedly dropped a barrel bomb over the city of Daraya on Jan. 31.(FADI DIRANI/AFP/Getty Images) Summary Barrel bombs are not especially effective weapons. They are often poorly constructed; they fail to detonate more often than other devices constructed for a similar purpose; and their lack of precision means they can have a disproportionate effect on civilian populations. However, combatants continue to use barrel bombs in conflicts, including in recent and ongoing conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, and they are ideally suited to the requirements of resource-poor states. Analysis Barrel bombs are improvised devices that contain explosive filling and shrapnel packed into a container, often in a cylindrical shape such as a barrel. The devices continue to be dropped on towns all over Syria . Indeed, there have been several documented cases of their use in Iraq over the past months, and residents of the city of Mosul, which was re...

Russia Looks East for New Oil Markets

Click to Enlarge In the final years of the Soviet Union, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev began orienting his foreign policy toward Asia in response to a rising Japan. Putin has also piloted a much-touted pivot to Asia, coinciding with renewed U.S. interest in the area. A good expression of intent was Russia's hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2012 in Vladivostok, near Russia's borders with China and North Korea. Although its efforts in Asia have been limited by more direct interests in Russia's periphery and in Europe, Moscow recently has been able to look more to the east. Part of this renewed interest involves finding new export markets for Russian hydrocarbons. Russia's economy relies on energy exports, particularly crude oil and natural gas exported via pipeline to the West. However, Western Europe is diversifying its energy sources as new supplies come online out of a desire to reduce its dependence on Russian energy supplies . This has ...

LONDON POLICE INDIRECTLY ENCOURAGE CRIMINALS TO ATTACK RUSSIAN DIPLOMATIC PROPERTY

ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE A few days ago an unknown perpetrator trespassed on the territory of the Russian Trade Delegation in London, causing damage to the property and the vehicles belonging to the trade delegation , Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during the September 12 press briefing. The diplomat revealed the response by the London police was discouraging. Police told that the case does not have any prospects and is likely to be closed. This was made despite the fact that the British law enforcement was provided with video surveillance tapes and detailed information shedding light on the incident. By this byehavior, British law inforcements indirectly encourage criminals to continue attacks on Russian diplomatic property in the UK. Zakharova’s statement on “Trespassing on the Russian Trade Mission premises in London” ( source ): During our briefings, we have repeatedly discussed compliance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, sp...

ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Search This Blog