Deir Ezzor Rebel Military Council Allies with YPG and Syrian Elite Forces for Raqqa Campaign al-Hamra Follow Dec 23, 2016 · 2 min read

Depending on who you believe, Abu Khawlah was either a Free Syrian Army leader in Deir Ezzor before Islamic State defeated and expelled rebels in summer of 2014 or a criminal-snitch-informant whose brother is also a criminal. Either way, Khawlah is part of or trying to link with former president of the National Coalition of Opposition and Revolutionary Forces Ahmed Jarba’s new group Syrian Elite Forces, a YPG-aligned rebel group of some 13,000 fighters. (Not coincidentally, Jarba’s cousin Humaydi Dahmam al-Assi al-Jarba is the co-president of Hasakah’s Rojava government. The Arab tribe they hail from, Shammar, have enjoyed good and friendly relations with Syrian Kurds for decades and were quick to support the 2011 uprising against Bashar al-Assad’s regime.)

Humaydi Dahmam al-Assi al-Jarba, head of the Shamar tribe in Syria and Iraq, in his palatial compound.

Below is a translated interview with Khawlah that appeared on the YouTube channel of Qasioun News Agency (QNA) which is interesting because QNA is not a YPG propaganda outlet but an opposition media agency based in Turkey.

Abu Khawlah: My name is Abu Khawlah, head of the Deir Ezzour Military Council, which is part of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). We’re participating in the Raqqa offensive in order to free the city from the Daesh gangs so that civilians and families from there can reunite and finally return home.

Interviewer: Do you have plans after the liberation of Raqqa, Insha’Allah, to then turn to Deir Ezzour and liberate it as well?

Abu Khawlah: The foundation of the Deir Ezzour Military Council was meant to gather those fighters who are from Deir Ezzour and the Hasakah region in order to liberate Deir Ezzour. The main goal in the first place is to liberate the city of Deir Ezzour. At the same time we are part of the SDF umbrella, whose goal is to liberate every part of Syria; but this military council was specifically created to liberate Deir Ezzour.

Interviewer: Approximately when do you think such a campaign will begin, according to your expectations?

Abu Khawlah: Right now the SDF is improving its military and political position. We think the time for that will be very soon, though for now the main objective of the SDF is Raqqa. The city of Raqqa is on the same road as Deir Ezzour, their lands are shared and there are many connections between the families and tribes in both areas. You could say the liberation of Raqqa is the liberation of Deir Ezzour.

Translation by reddit user Maonxv.