Dispute over smuggling routes leaves casualties in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor
DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) – A member of National Defense Forces (NDF) and another from the Osoud al-Sharqiya faction affiliated with the Syrian government forces were killed on Sunday night in a town east of Deir ez-Zor, eastern Syria, due to disputes over river smuggling routes.
Clashes took place near al-Hikma Hospital in the center of the town of al-Asharah east of Deir ez-Zor where machineguns and heavy weapons were used, a military source from the NDF in the town said.
The clashes, which lasted for hours, resulted in the killing of a member of the NDF and a member of Osoud al-Sharqiya, as well as three civilians were wounded, the source added.
Pro-Iranian militias and government forces control large areas of the Syrian Desert and the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor after the expulsion of the Islamic State Organization (ISIS) in 2017.
Two days ago, the body of a member of the NDF was found with signs of torture, in the Euphrates River in the town of Abu Hamam in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor.