Raqqa tribes ask SDF and Coalition to expel Iranian militias from Syria
RAQQA, Syria (North Press) – The sheikh of the Sabkha tribe in Syria’s Raqqa, Mohammad Turki al-So’an, called on both the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Global Coalition to expel “Iranian militias” from the Sabkha area and to free his people of the “woes and massacres” committed against them.
“We ask the SDF and the Global Coalition to expel the Iranian militias that have tainted our tribe with woes,” al-So’an said to North Press.
He added that members of the Sabkha and Ma’adan tribes in southeast Raqqa are subjected to “mass killing campaigns,” referring to the continuous violations against sheep herders in the Raqqa desert for the last year.
“Circumstances proved that the SDF is a national project par excellence, and it is the best among the projects and entities in Syrian territory,” he stated.
North Press previously published news of a number of killings of cattle herders from the Sabkha and Ma’adan tribes by armed groups which sources say are backed by Iran.
The region of al-Akeirshi, 18 km east of Raqqa, separates the SDF from Syrian government forces.
The Sabkha region is located southeast of Raqqa on the right bank of the Euphrates River, and is under the control of Syrian government forces along with local Iranian-backed forces.
On Thursday, notables and sheikhs of the tribes and clans of southern Raqqa called on both the SDF and the Global Coalition to intervene and liberate their areas from “Iranian militias that carry out atrocities against their families and relatives in the west bank of the Euphrates River.”