03/23/24: Demonstrators gathered outside the headquarters of the SNA Military Police’s A’zaz branch, demanding the release of those arrest for blocking the convoy in the nearby town of Sajo last week. The convoy was apparently transporting high ranking but unidentified Turkish officials from an Iftar banquet held at the SIG Ministry of Defense headquarters back to Turkey. Over a dozen protestors - largely IDPs from Tell Rifa’at, some allegedly with ties to Tajammu’ al-Shahba’ - were reportedly turned over to al-Jabhah al-Shamiyah and the Military Police by local notables. Tell Rifa’at organizations continued issuing demands for the detainees release throughout the week.
03/23/24: The SDF’s Anti-Terror Units (YAT) raided an Islamic State sleeper cell in al-Raqqah city, reportedly headed by an Iraqi national who was killed in the operation. The following day the Asayish reported busted an IS cell in al-Shaddadi, arresting two suspected militants.
03/24/24: Opposition media reported that a handful of prisoners and prison guards were killed and over a dozen injured in a riot that occurred in an AANES prison in al-Raqqah city. The prison mentioned in the reports is not the city’s main prison which holds Islamic State members and is located near the city’s grain silos, but rather a new one known as the “construction and development” prison - a name likely in reference to the previous use of the property - housing convicted drud dealers. According to RBSS the prison is located in the northwestern Euphrates Basin neighborhood (the same entity referred to here as GADEB) near the site of the al-Dir’iyah post office destroyed in the 2017 SDF/Coalition campaign to capture the city. The Asayish and SDF did not make a statement on the reported incident.
03/24/24: The SDF Hajin Military Council announced the killing of two members of the regime-affiliated National Defense Forces, who had infiltrated SDF territory in al-Baghouz after crossing the Euphrates. The SDF published an ID card and paperwork found on the bodies. The card reads “fighter’s card” at the top left and “Leadership of Harakat Abna’ al-Jazirah wa’l-Furat” below the fighter’s headshot, while the paper is a receipt for weapons and ammunition from the Deir ez-Zour Military and Security Committee, signed by the commander of the Quwwat al-Karbala’i militia. Harakat Abna’ al-Jazirah wa’l-Furat and Quwwat al-Karbala’i are both IRGC-linked pro-regime militias active in Deir ez-Zour. The former is headed by al-’Agidat tribal notable Hashim al-Mas’oud al-Sattam and made up of tribal elements from both SDF and regime-controlled sides of the river. The latter was reportedly formed in western Syria but moved to Deir ez-Zour in 2019 where it has recruited locals. According to Naher Media it is is administratively attached to Syria’s Republican Guard. Reported attacks carried out by unknown actors and tribal fighters independent of or support by the regime continued to occur almost daily in Deir ez-Zour along the Euphrates. Later in the week the SDF reported capturing and killing members of a cell responsible for IED attacks on SDF vehicles, while opposition media reported two civilians killed in a raid on the same date, also occurring in Dhiban.
03/25/24: Harakat al-Tahrir wa’l-Bina’ military commander Fahd Muhsen al-Fannar (“Abu Salim al-Athar”) was killed in a reported landmine explosion near the front line village of al-’Ajmi, located in between al-Bab and SDF-controlled al-’Arimah. According to opposition media al-Fannar belonged to Harakat al-Tahrir wa’l-Bina’ subfaction Ahrar al-Sharqiyah and was originally from Hajin, Deir ez-Zour. Clashes had been reported around al-’Ajmi the night before. The week prior Harakat al-Tahrir wa’l-Bina’ claimed to have successfully fought off an SDF infiltration attempt at the same location.
03/26/24: The SDF claimed to have thwarted an escape attempt involving an Indonesian and a Turkish member of the Islamic State’s “Cubs of the Caliphate” youth wing and a smuggler from western Deir ez-Zour at al-Houl camp.
03/27/24: The SDF announced that an administrative office belonging to its al-Raqqah Military Council was attacked by gunmen around noon, resulting in the death of two SDF members and the capture of one attacker. While the SDF accused the Islamic State of being responsible for the attack the jihadi organization did not claim responsibility. Meanwhile opposition outlets claimed the attack was an act of revenge carried out family members of prisoners killed in the riot three days before.
03/28/24: A riot reportedly broke out at al-Ahdath prison in al-Raqqah city reportedly leading authorities to temporarily lose control of parts the facility and several detainees escaping into the adjacent residential neighborhoods. The Asayish later published a statement announcing the situation to be stable following combing operations. Opposition media later reported that four inmates were killed in the riot and eight escapees had been arrested outside the prison.
03/28/24: The AANES’s “High Commission for Elections” held its first meeting, announcing that municipal elections across northeastern Syria will be held on May 30th. For more on this developing process see a recent interview by RIC with AANES officials in Kobanî.
03/29/24: Fawaz al-Zawba’, a notable from the al-Jubour tribe, passed away from an illness while seeking treatment in Damascus. The al-Jubour are the largest tribe in al-Hasakah though its members have ended up on all sides of the war since 2011. Fawaz al-Zawba’ was a longtime SDF ally who was called upon to issue statements supporting the SDF during clashes with Arab tribes last year. The Sheikh of the Jubour Nawaf ‘Abd al-’Aziz al-Meslat resides in SDF-controlled Tell Brak but maintains good relations with the regime. Other members of the sheikhly Meslat family include Mahmoud al-Meslat, the current co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council, and Salim al-Meslat, the former president of the opposition’s Syrian National Coalition.
Claimed Islamic State attacks against the SDF:
03/23/24: Attack targeting an SDF vehicle in al-Sa’dah, southern al-Hasakah, allegedly killing two fighters and injuring two more.
03/26/24: Attack targeting an SDF vehicle on the al-Hisan town road, western Deir ez-Zour, allegedly injuring a fighter.
03/27/24: Attack targeting an SDF position in al-Sabhah, central Deir ez-Zour, allegedly injuring a number of fighters. SDF-aligned North Press Agency confirmed the attack occurred though reported that “the damage was limited to material.”
03/27/24: Attack targeting two SDF fighters in Abu Fas, southern al-Hasakah, allegedly killing both.
03/27/24: IED attack targeting an SDF vehicle in Hawayij Dhiyab, western Deir ez-Zour, allegedly injuring a number of fighters. SDF-aligned North Press Agency confirmed the attack occurred though reported that “the damage was limited to material.”