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Last Friday, May 22, 2020, Deir Ezzor 24 network monitored the Russian forces conducting a patrol for the first time on the lines of contact with the international coalition forces and the SDF in Khsham town.
Last April, Russian forces conducted a similar patrol in al-Mayadeen city, apparently to send a message to the Iranian militias in the region that the Russians have not allowed full freedom to the Iranians in Deir Ezzor.
The messages, made through the Russians’ recent patrol, don’t only target the Iranians, but also the Coalition forces, led by the Americans, as the Russian patrol was conducted near the largest international Coalition’s bases in Deir Ezzor east of the Euphrates (Conoco base), to tell the Coalition that the Russians will continue their provocations and desperate attempts in Deir Ezzor areas, and that it, Russia, is a major actor in the region, who should have a part in all the political rounds and forums held on the region. and this is what they mean by their recent moves.
The new Russian moves are provocative to the Iranians, the Americans, and even to the people of Deir Ezzor, who categorically reject any initiatives by Russia, especially the previous attempts of playing the tribal card, as they see the Russians as a main partner of Assad regime in its crimes against the Syrian people.
It is indicated that the towns of Hatlah, Marrat, Al-Husseiniyah, Khsham and Tabiya Jazeera are the only towns controlled by Assad’s forces and their militias east of the Euphrates, and that during the last period, these towns were under complete control of the Iranians, after the Russian influence had declined in Deir Ezzor.