Syria Summary – A New Clash Looms in Syria’s East
NOVANEWS
By Moon of Alabama
When the Islamic State siege on Deir Ezzor was broken by the Syrian Arab Army we asked:
Will the SAA cross the Euphrates at Deir Ezzor to retake the valuable oilfields east of it? Or will it stay south of the river and leave those oil fields to the Kurdish U.S. proxies in the north?
To cross the river is clearly desirable but also potentially contentious.
Since then several convoys of military bridging equipment have been seen on the road to Deir Ezzor. It is now obvious that the SAA will bridge the river (all regular bridges have been destroyed by U.S. bombing) and send significant forces across. New questions now are: When, where and with what aim?
As soon as the government intent became clear the U.S. pushed its local proxy forces to immediat...