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Middle East

Anti-Kurdish protests in east Syria could endanger US plans

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    FILE - In this March 23, 2019 file photo, U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters pose for a photo in Baghouz, Syria, after the SDF declared the area free of Islamic State militants. SDF defeated the IS in March but the Kurdish-led force is now facing protests by local Arab tribesmen in Deir el-Zour province. If the protests turn to an all-out uprising against the SDF it could be a blow to Washington as President Trump has plans to reduce America's military presence in Syria. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File)

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    In this March 28, 2018 photo, a Kurdish policeman checks an Arab Syrian man at a checkpoint controlled by The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, SDF, on a highway in Hassakeh province, Syria. SDF defeated IS in March but the Kurdish-led force is now facing protests by local Arab tribesmen in Deir el-Zour province. If the protests turn to an all-out uprising against the SDF it could be a blow to Washington as President Trump has plans to reduce America's military presence in Syria. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

BEIRUT – The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces defeated the Islamic State group in Syria in March, but the Kurdish-led force is now facing protests by local Arab tribesmen in eastern Deir el-Zour province — territory once held by IS.

The protesters are demanding better services, jobs and a bigger role in taking decisions in the predominantly Arab oil-rich and fertile region.

The demonstrations in more than a dozen villages in the eastern province are limited for now, but if they turn to an all-out uprising against the SDF, it could be a blow to Washington and President Donald Trump's plans to reduce America's military presence in Syria.

Several rounds of talks between the SDF — founded in 2015 to fight IS — and local officials have so far failed to make progress.