Abu Kamal or Al-Bukamal is a city on the Euphrates river in the Deir ez-Zor Governorate of eastern Syria near the border with Iraq. It is the administrative centre of the Abu Kamal District and the local subdistrict. Just to the south-east is the Al-Qa'im border crossing to the town of Husaybah in the Al-Qa'im District of Iraq's Al Anbar Governorate.
Hajin is a small city in eastern Syria, administratively part of the Deir ez-Zor Governorate, located along the Euphrates River, south of Deir ez-Zor. Nearby localities include al-Abbas to the west, al-Ramadi to the south and Gharanij to the north. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Hajin had a population of 37,935 in the 2004 census. It is the administrative center of a nahiyah ("subdistrict") of the Abu Kamal District. The Hajin subdistrict consists of four towns which had a collective population of 97,970 in 2004. The al-Shaitat tribe is the largest tribe in the area. The town was captured by the Syrian Democratic Forces on 14 December 2018 in the Battle of Hajin, after a week and a half of heavy clashes and intense airstrikes by the United States-led Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve international coalition, and has since been part of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.
The Deir ez-Zor Governorate campaign of the Syrian civil war consists of several battles and offensives fought across the governorate of Syria:
The Forces of the Brave, generally called the al-Sanadid Forces, are a militia formed by the Arab Shammar tribe to fight against the Islamic State. Even though the tribe's Syrian strongholds are mostly in the Jazira Canton of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, such as at al-Yaarubiyah and Tell Hamis, the militia operates throughout most of the AANES. The red colour in their flag represents blood while the yellow represents the light, calling themselves “marchers on the red death”. The al-Sanadid Forces are affiliated with the co-governor/co-president of Jazira Canton and tribal leader Humaydi Daham al-Hadi, and are led by Humaydi's son Bandar al-Humaydi.
The Deir ez-Zor offensive (2016) was an ISIL military operation, during which it took over the northern suburbs of Deir ez-Zor on 16 January 2016, and killed from 135 to 300 people, while also kidnapping about 400 others.
The Northern Democratic Brigade is a Free Syrian Army unit that is closely allied to the Syrian Kurdish YPG and YPJ in Afrin Region since 2014. Led by Absi Taha, Alexander Khalil, and Alexander Alaa, it also joined the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in November 2015. The initial members of the group originated from Jabal Zawiya in Idlib, and it has recruited Arabs from Idlib, Aleppo, and other cities in northern Syria since allying with the YPG. Since joining the SDF, the unit has begun to operate across much of northern and eastern Syria, participating in operations against anti-SDF Syrian opposition factions, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the Turkish Armed Forces, and the Syrian National Army.
The Forces of the Fighters of the Tribes, also known as the Tribal Army and the Tribal Fighters, is a multi-tribal militia affiliated with the Syrian Military Intelligence Directorate that takes part in the Syrian Civil War. Led by Turki al Buhamad, the Fighters of the Tribes played a vital role in the Assad government's efforts to retake central and eastern Syria. The militia is affiliated with the pro-Ba'athist branch of the Arab Socialist Movement, and is closely allied with Russia.
The following is a timeline of the Syrian Civil War from September to December 2017. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found at Casualties of the Syrian Civil War.
The Deir ez-Zor campaign, codenamed the al-Jazeera Storm campaign, was a military operation launched by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Syria's Deir ez-Zor Governorate in 2017 during the Syrian Civil War with the goal of capturing territory in eastern Syria, particularly east and north of the Euphrates river. The U.S.-led Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF–OIR) anti-ISIL coalition provided extensive air support while SDF personnel composed the majority of the ground forces; OIR special forces and artillery units were also involved in the campaign.
The 2017 Euphrates Crossing offensive was a military offensive launched by the Syrian Arab Army against members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the Deir ez-Zor Governorate, following the breaking of the three-year siege of the city of Deir ez-Zor. The Euphrates Crossing offensive, conducted by government troops, was done with the aim of denying US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces and the US itself leverage over the Syrian government.
The Deir ez-Zor offensive was a military operation launched by the Syrian Armed Forces to completely expel the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) from the city of Deir ez-Zor, a provincial capital, located on the banks of the Euphrates river. From 2014 until 2017, the city had been divided into Syrian government and ISIL-controlled halves. The rest of the Governorate (province) was under ISIL control for most of this time, putting the government-controlled half of the city under siege.
The 2017 Abu Kamal offensive, codenamed Operation Fajr-3, was a military offensive launched by the Syrian Arab Army and its allies against members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the Deir ez-Zor Governorate. The aim of the offensive was to capture ISIL's last urban stronghold in Syria, the border town of Abu Kamal. This offensive was a part of the larger Eastern Syria campaign.
The Eastern Syria campaign of September–December 2017 was a large-scale military operation of the Syrian Army (SAA) and its allies against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) during the Syrian Civil War. Its goal was to clear the city of Deir ez-Zor of any remaining ISIL forces, capture ISIL's de facto capital of Mayadin, as well as seize the border town of Abu Kamal, which became one of ISIL's final urban strongholds by the latter stages of the campaign.
The Baqir Brigade, is a Syrian pro-government militia originating in the Aleppo Governorate that fights in the Syrian Civil War. The militia is one of the most prominent and largest pro-government militias from the Aleppo area and part of the "Local Defence Forces" network. Its members mostly consists of tribesmen from the al-Baggara tribe that traditionally supported the rule of the al-Assad family despite being mostly Sunni Muslim. Though the militia's fighters thus come from a largely Sunni background, many of them have converted to or are at least strongly influenced by Shia Islam. The Baqir Brigade has also been noted for its strong connections to the Lebanese Hezbollah, Iran, and various Shiite Iraqi militias, and is thus generally considered to be a Shia or "Shi'ified" fighting force.
The Eastern Syria insurgency is an armed insurgency being waged by remnants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and both pro and anti-Syrian government Arab nationalist insurgents, against the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), its military, and their allies in the US-led Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF–OIR) coalition.
The Deir ez-Zor Military Council is an Arab-majority militia of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), based in the Deir ez-Zor Governorate.
The following is a timeline of the Syrian civil war for 2021. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found at Casualties of the Syrian civil war.
The following is a timeline of the Syrian civil war for 2022. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found in Casualties of the Syrian civil war.
Starting on 27 August 2023, an escalation of violence occurred across Deir ez-Zor Governorate in eastern Syria. The clashes began after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is the military force of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) arrested the military commander of Deir ez-Zor Military Council known by the name of Abu Khawla, accusing him of corruption and unlawful activity. Abu Khawla has the support of some Arab tribes in Deir-Ez-Zor. The arrest led to a spiraling cycle of violence that escalated when tribal gunmen launched an offensive against the SDF in the region. As a result of the ongoing clashes, tribal fighters managed to take control of some towns and villages. However, a counterattack by the SDF regained control of all lost areas by 7 September 2023. The SDF officially termed the counter-attack Operation Security Reinforcement. Another, short-lived rebellion took place from 25 to 27 September, inspired by an attack by pro-Syrian government militias from across the Euphrates; this uprising was quickly defeated by the SDF.
Hashemite Tribes Regiment is a militant group based in Eastern Syria, more specifically Deir ez-Zor, and participates in the Eastern Syrian insurgency mainly against U.S-backed groups like the Syrian Democratic Forces and Kurdish forces and groups with the goal of establishing reinforced control of Arab tribes against, what it calls, Kurdish influence.
Free Syrian Army (2011–2014)
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (2014)
Syrian Democratic Forces (2016–2023)
Deir ez-Zor Military Council