U.S. officials visit Syria's Deir al Zor in bid to defuse Arab tribal unrest

FILE PHOTO: An American soldier sits on a military vehicle, at al-Omar oil field in Deir Al Zor, Syria March 23, 2019. Picture taken March 23, 2019. REUTERS/Aboud Hamam/File Photo

AMMAN (Reuters) - Senior U.S. officials visited Syria's eastern oil-rich Deir al Zor province on Sunday in an attempt to defuse an uprising by Arab tribes against Kurdish rule that is destabilising northeast Syria, U.S. officials, security sources, and residents said.

An Arab tribal backlash against the rule of the Kurdish YPG militia has led to clashes, with over 150 killed and dozens injured. The militia forms the backbone of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and the uprising is the biggest threat to their rule since they finally drove Islamic State out of a swathe of the country's north and east in 2019.