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Tribal backlash. The Kurdish-led alliance of Syrian militias backed by the US military to fight the Islamic State group is facing a fresh challenge to its authority in the oil-rich eastern Deir Ezzor province amid spreading clashes with local tribes.
What began as isolated skirmishes following the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces’ (SDF) arrest of the head of the subordinate Deir Ezzor Military Council on Sunday has led to public demands for autonomy from the Kurdish-led authorities by tribal leaders.
The eruption of long-simmering tensions threatens to undermine cohesion within the US-controlled corner of Syria, raising concerns that other parties to the conflict may exploit the opportunity to roll back Kurdish gains and potentially stage attacks on American military forces in a bid to drive them out of the country’s resource-rich northeast.
