AP, Beirut, 2 Aug 2014 — Tribesmen have risen up against the extremist Islamic State group in eastern Syria, forcing it to withdraw from three villages after heavy clashes that left more than a dozen people dead, activists said Saturday.
It was the first sign of local resistance to the extremist group since its fighters captured large parts of the oil-rich eastern province of Deir el-Zour in recent weeks.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Turkey-based activist Mustafa Osso said the group was forced to bring in reinforcements from neighboring Iraq after members of the Shueitat tribe drove jihadi fighters out of the villages of Kishkiyeh, Abu Hamam and Granij.
The Observatory, a Britain-based group relying on activists inside Syria, said tribesmen torched the local headquarters of the Islamic State in the nearby town of Ashara and that residents held a demonstration against the group.
Osso and the Observatory said fighting first broke out Wednesday after jihadis detained three tribesmen, allegedly breaking an agreement between the two sides reached after Islamic State fighters captured the villages.
Osso added: “This is a very important area for Islamic State because it is rich with oil and borders Iraq.” The Observatory said tribesmen captured the nearby Tanak oil field on Friday.
It added that the Islamic State has sent a large number of fighters from the Iraqi border town of Qaim to reinforce the group’s positions.
The Observatory said four days of fighting left nine jihadis, three tribesmen and five civilians dead.
The Syrian uprising began in the form of peaceful protests against President Bashar Assad in March 2011, but escalated into an insurgency when government forces violently cracked down on dissent.
Over 170,000 people have been killed in Syria in more than three years of fighting, activists say.