Deir ez-Zor clashes (2011–2014)
Protests against the Syrian government and violence had been ongoing in the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor since March 2011, as part of the wider Syrian Civil War, but large-scale clashes started following a military operation in late July 2011 to secure the city of Deir ez-Zor. The rebels took over most of the province by late 2013, leaving only small pockets of government control around the city of Deir ez-Zor.
| Deir ez-Zor clashes (2011–2014) | ||||||||
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| Part of the Deir ez-Zor Governorate campaign of the Syrian civil war | ||||||||
Situation in Deir ez-Zor in March 2014 Syrian Government control Opposition control | ||||||||
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| Belligerents | ||||||||
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Syrian Arab Republic
Supported by: Hezbollah |
Free Syrian Army (SNC-aligned units) Authenticity and Development Front Al-Nusra Front Ahrar al-Sham Euphrates Islamic Liberation Front Sons of Islam Movement Jaysh Ahl as-Sunna wa-l-Jama’a Jabhat al-Jihad wal-Bina' al-Islamiyya Liwa al-Fatihoun min Ard ash-Sham Supported by: al-Okaidat clan (majority) |
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Islamic State of Iraq until April 2013) Supported by: al-Bakkir clan al-Okaidat clan (minority) | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | ||||||||
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Maj. Gen. Issam Zahreddine (Republican Guard Brigade 104 commander) Maj. Gen. Jameh Jameh † (Head of Deir ez-Zor Military Intelligence) Kifah Moulhem (Battalion commander) Turki Albu Hamad (Militia commander) |
Mohammad Abboud (SNC commander for eastern Syria) Fares Bayoush (until 2012) Hussein Abu Sultan "Abu Ghanam" † (Lions of Al Jazeera commander) Abu Alaith (Liwa Ahfad Mohammad commander) Abu Mohammad al-Julani (Leader of al-Nusra Front) Abu Maria Al-Qahtani (Sharia leader for al-Nusra Front) Abu Salam Tabsah (al-Nusra Front commander) Mohammad al-Chati "Abu Hamza" † (Leader of Liwa al-Fatihoun min Ard ash-Sham) |
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (Caliph of ISIL) Amer al-Rafdan (ISIL prefect of Deir ez-Zor) Ali Kmaz † (ISIL field commander) | ||||||
| Units involved | ||||||||
| See Units | See Units | Military of ISIL | ||||||
| Strength | ||||||||
| 9,000 soldiers and policemen, 150+ tanks | 17,000 fighters (opposition claim, all withdrawn) | 3,000+ fighters | ||||||
Since late 2013, ISIS became increasingly involved in the battle, but retreated tactically in February 2014. Still, in April 2014, ISIS launched a massive offensive, taking over all rebel areas. Heavy fighting continued in the city over the following years between government troops and ISIS. By mid-November 2016, it was reported that since the start of the fighting in Deir ez-Zor city five years earlier, around 3,000 anti-government jihadists and 2,500 pro-government fighters had been killed. Government forces were besieged but remained in control of 40 percent of the city and the military airport.