IRGC trains government militias to fight SDF in eastern Syria
DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) – Officers of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Crops (IRGC) supervise the training of militants of the National Defense Forces (NDF), a militia affiliated with the government forces, to fight the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Deir ez-Zor Governorate in eastern Syria, a military source of the NDF said on Monday.
The source told North Press that officers of the IRGC started training about 80 individuals from Deir ez-Zor in a camp near the town of Sabikhan in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor.
The source added that the training would continue for a month, and that the members would receive training on fighting and using developed weapons.
Previously, a military source said the IRGC moved reinforcements and developed equipment from central Syria to Deir ez-Zor. The reinforcements included missiles and Iranian-made drones to attack bases of the Global Coalition in the areas held by the SDF in the east of the Euphrates River.
The goal of the training, according to the source, is to fight the SDF and cause instability in the region for the benefit of Iran.
The Euphrates River forms the border between the SDF-held areas and the Syrian government forces along with their militias. In August 2023, the area witnessed tension that led to clashes between the SDF and armed militias. The SDF says the government forces and the Iranian militias send armed men to its region to destabilize it.