By Omar Abdurrahman
DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) – Iran has been endeavoring to recruit, attract, and mobilize young men in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, eastern Syria, to empower its military presence to tackle any local opposition. Indeed, Iran managed to make some progress in this regard, but the tribal diversity has prevented fusing all new militias under one banner.
Iran tried to take advantage of tribalism to enhance its presence in Deir ez-Zor, specifically the areas located in the western bank of the Euphrates River, where people there believe that Iran is better than the Syrian government forces in terms of loyalty, knowing that the government failed to attract the tribes.
The process of attracting people started from the village of Hatla, east of Deir ez-Zor, and Nawaf al-Bashir, Sheikh of al-Baggara tribe, a pro-Iranian figure that has groups operating in the western bank of the Euphrates, which is under the control of the government forces and the Iranian-backed militias.
Al-Bashir is the founder of al-Baqir Brigade and the Usoud al-Asha’er (Tribes Lions) militias. both militias are mainly composed of al-Baggara tribe.
There are other militias in the western bank of the Euphrates that are linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
These militias and groups are often led by Iranian leaders, with local commanders following Iranian directives. Local militias primarily engaged in smuggling, escorting Iranian trucks, and protecting Iranian military headquarters.
The majority of tribal leaders and notables in areas controlled by Iran and the government forces in Deir ez-Zor are affiliated with Iran and have formed auxiliary brigades for the IRGC.
Since August 2023, the process of recruitment for Iran in Deir ez-Zor has hiked through adopting the method of intimidation and enticement. The recruitment targeted young men who are part of reconciliation agreements (those who had their status settled at the government’s centers) or wanted by the Syrian government.
Iran offers relatively high salaries to the recruited members, as these salaries enticing them due to the difficult economic conditions by the majority of Syrians.
Iran took advantage of the tribal ancestors, especially the Hashemite Tribes whose lineage traces back to the prophet Muhammad, such as al-Baggara tribe, al-Mashahida, and al-Marasemah, all of which supported Iranian militias.
Many Iranian-backed militias were formed on tribal basis. The clashes that erupted in Deir ez-Zor between sympathizers of Ahmad al-Khabil, known as Abu Khawla on one side, and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on the other side, prompted al-Bashir and his followers to unify those militias under one name.
Iran worked on forming a new armed group led by Nawaf al-Bashir under the name of Hashemite Tribes Brigade. Media reports stated that al-Bashir, with Iranian support, aims to confront the SDF in the eastern bank of the Euphrates.
Recently, al-Bushaban tribe has announced the formation of a new military unit works for Ibrahim al-Hefl, called Saraya al-Bushaban. This new group is closely tied to the confrontations with local militants and the SDF, and it comes as part of the clashes against the SDF, which have taken the form of nighttime targeting in the eastern bank of the Euphrates.
The beginning was in 2017, with the establishment of The Sons of Jazira and Euphrates Movement in Deir ez-Zor, west of the Euphrates. The main objective of the movement was to strike the SDF posts in the east of the Euphrates, but initially, the movement did not gain significant support from its members.
The Sons of Jazira and Euphrates Movement is engaged in military and paramilitary actions in eastern Syria. The militia mainly fights the SDF and aims at reinforcing Arab tribal power.
These movements have recently received moral and material support from the IRGC and have recruited individuals wanted by the Syrian government who were previously affiliated with other groups such as the Islamic State (ISIS) or the Syrian armed opposition factions.
The aforementioned circumstances facilitated and contributed to recruit thousands of individuals within their ranks, most of them were from the al-Uqaydat tribe.
The movement has been led by more than 10 leaders, with the leadership being changed during a specific period, and the appointed leaders are affiliated with the IRGC to prevent any coup.
At first, the movement worked on recruiting cells within the SDF-held areas in Deir ez-Zor to carry out ambushes and hit-and-run attacks on the SDF posts, facilities, and vehicles. However, these attacks shifted to infiltration operations from the west of the Euphrates to the east.
After the SDF issued a decision to pursue Ibrahim al-Hefl due to his fighting and incitement against the SDF in Deir ez-Zor, the latter fled to the government-held areas to get closer to al-Bashir. Later, he became under house arrest in the town of Mahkan, east of Deir ez-Zor, and was then appointed the leader of the Sons of Jazira and Euphrates Movement.
Al-Hefl used his tribal name to attract the people of Deir ez-Zor to join the movement, which he only nominally led.
The movement has recently witnessed disputes among its leaders due to tribal reasons or disagreements over funds provided by Iran. These disputes escalated into infighting. As a result, the movement witnessed assassinations of some of its leaders, which prompted the majority of them to flee outside Syria.
Following the disputes within the movement, each leader began to approach the notables and dignitaries of a specific tribe in Deir ez-Zor to gain their favor and establish a battalion or a separate brigade, defecting from the movement. Thus the Hashemite Brigade was formed, supported by the members of al-Baggara tribe in Deir ez-Zor and obtained approval, weapons, and direct support from the IRGC via mediation of Ragheb al-Bashir.
A person named Muhammad al-Bakhit, also known as Abu al-Ghamid al-Shahil, formed his own group under the name of Abu al-Ghamid Battalion.
However, this battalion did not gain popularity and support from the IRGC for many reasons; most notably the disagreement between its leader, Muhammad al-Bakhit and al-Hefl for holding the position of Tribal Forces spokesperson, and another reason due to al-Hefl’s corruption, so al-Bakhit defected from him.
After the decline in the numbers of the Abu al-Ghamid Battalion and al-Hefl incitement against the al-Bakhit, the latter fled to areas outside the control of the government.
Similarly, notables of al-Najras tribe began forming their own special battalion in an attempt to get closer to the Iranian influence and gain support.
Al-Zare’ Battalion, led by Azouz al-Zar’e was formed in the city of al-Quriyah, east of Deir ez-Zor. It consists of more than 300 militants and has recently received good support from the IRGC due to its significant activity in carrying out infiltration and attacks on SDF posts in Deir ez-Zor.
Another brigade, called Karbala’iyon, was led by Hajj Abu Ali al-Karbalai, who is of Iranian nationality, did not receive tribal support and is considered marginalized in Deir ez-Zor due to its direct support to people with bad reputation in Deir ez-Zor.
The group is affiliated with Iran and was founded in 2019 to fight the American forces in Syria.
This group, which is about 400 militants, started coordinating with the Syrian government forces and issuing security cards for its militants, allowing them to move freely throughout Deir ez-Zor without being targeted by any security forces.
After the formation of the Hashemite Brigade, Ragheb al-Bashir, who led the brigade, started to approach Muhanna al-Fayyad, leader of al-Busaraya tribe in Deir ez-Zor, and reached an agreement with him to unify the tribe’s members and encourage them to join the Hashemite in exchange for an agreement between al-Bashir and al-Fayyad to share support and spoils between them.
However, after the dispute and divisions within the movement, members of al-Shaitat tribe formed their own special battalion called al-Shaitat Fighters. This battalion received no support from the IRGC due to the lack of coordination with tribal leaders in the western Euphrates region.
The battalion militants decided to follow their own approach by joining the National Defense Forces (NDF), affiliated with the Syrian government forces, and under the name of Usoud al-Sharqiyah and led by members of the al-Shaitat tribe.
As for the members of the Hassoun and al-Jaghayfah tribes, they have recently started holding meetings between Jamal al-Hardan, prominent figure of Hassoun tribe, and Faisal al-Kassar, tribal leader of al-Jaghayfah tribe, with the aim of forming a joint battalion led by the members of Hassoun and al-Jaghayfah tribes.
This was done after the notables and sheikhs of both tribes obtained the approval and support of the IRGC provided that the battalion should contain more than 200 militants.
All of these movements, brigades, and battalions seek to gain Iranian support under the pretext of fighting the SDF.
However, Iran’s objectives in supporting these armed groups are greater than these plans. Iran aims to recruit all the members of the tribes in Deir ez-Zor under its command, to later use them in internal and external conflicts.