Arabs need leadership role in Deir ez-Zor, says council chief
Eastern Deir ez-Zor continues to experience frequent attacks, presumably by the Islamic State, and locals mistrust the Syrian Democratic Forces' control over it.
ERBIL — “We read in articles that there are sleeper cells. These are not sleeper cells. They are active on a daily basis,” Ghassan al-Youssef told Al-Monitor about the Islamic State's presence in Syria’s eastern Deir ez-Zor region.
Youssef, the civil council chief of the part of the governorate officially under control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), noted in the Feb. 16 interview that recent attacks have been “against the SDF, against civilians and against officials.”
Deir ez-Zor has suffered an uptick in attacks in recent months, presumably from IS fighters. A few days before, Youssef said a school for some 600 students had been destroyed in eastern Deir ez-Zor.
Youssef spoke to Al-Monitor two days before he met with US special representative for Syria James Jeffrey alongside other local military and civilian leaders.
