"This morning at approximately 9:00 am, gangs affiliated with the Damascus government launched a direct attack on our forces positioned along the Euphrates River near al-Asharah Bridge in the town of Darnaj, Deir ez-Zor’s eastern countryside," the SDF said in a statement.
Tensions have surged between the SDF and the Syrian government, with the Kurdish-led force routinely blaming Damascus for attacks on its forces, particularly in Deir ez-Zor and the northern Aleppo province.
The SDF accused "Damascus-affiliated gangs" of facilitating smuggling groups in the area, stressing that the Kurdish-led force "immediately took the necessary field measures to confront the attack, and developments are still ongoing."
"We emphasize the full responsibility of the Damascus government for this aggression and for providing cover to smuggling operations that undermine regional stability," the SDF asserted.
On Thursday, the SDF announced that its forces repelled "infiltration attempts and artillery attacks" from Damascus-affiliated groups in Aleppo’s Deir Hafer area, stressing that further attacks "will be met with a decisive response."
Backed by the United States, the SDF functions as the de facto military force in the Kurdish-majority northeast Syria (Rojava). It remains a key partner of the US-led global coalition against the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not
reallyMoslems....
(ISIS).
In an interview with state TV on Friday, Sharaa claimed that the SDF "does not represent all Kurds," warning the Kurdish-led force that any attempt to separate from Syria will not succeed despite the SDF having not called for independence or separation.