Tension simmers between IRGC, government in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor
DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) – Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an ally of the Syrian government, killed on Friday a soldier of the Syrian government forces after a dispute in eastern Deir ez-Zor, eastern Syria.
A military source from the Fourth Division of the government forces told North Press that a dispute occurred between militants of the Base 47, affiliated with the IRGC, and the Fourth Division’s members because the latter set up checkpoints inside neighborhoods and towns under the control of the Iranian-backed militias.
The source added that the dispute caused tension, which evolved into using weapons, killing one soldier of the Fourth Division at a checkpoint in the town of al-Suwayeiya in the countryside of Abu Kamal in eastern Deir ez-Zor.
Following the incident, the IRGC set up more checkpoints and fortified them with more militants, set up barricades, and brought in military reinforcements to various towns in the countryside of Abu Kamal, in anticipation of a possible attack by the Division against the IRGC checkpoints or headquarters, the source added.
Since early June, there has been simmering tension between the two parties following the decision to withdraw members of the Fourth Division from checkpoints along the Euphrates River and limit their presence in headquarters and posts on the outskirts of the Syrian Desert. They were replaced with units of the Republican Guard and IRGC, the source noted.
The source went further stressing that a state of calmness prevailed in those towns. Meanwhile, leaders of the Fourth Division threatened to launch attacks against the IRGC headquarters and checkpoints to “avenge the dead.”
Iranian-backed militias and the government forces control large areas of the Syrian Desert and the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, which constitutes a source of concern as it witnesses intensive operations by ISIS sleeper cells.
The IRGC was created after Iran’s 1979 revolution to protect the new Islamic regime. It has become one of the most powerful paramilitary organizations in the Middle East. It has provided assistance to militant groups in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Syria, and Yemen. Its control over large sectors of the Iranian economy helps it fund its activities.