Jan 18 (Reuters) - Syrian troops fighting U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces seized the Omar oil field, the country’s largest, and the Conoco gas field in the eastern Deir Zor province as allied Arab tribal forces advanced in the oil-rich area along the border with Iraq, officials and security sources said on Sunday.
The takeover of the oil fields that lie east of the Euphrates River — a main source of revenue for the Kurdish-led forces — was a major blow to the group.
Syrian government officials said the oil wealth the militia had controlled to sustain its self-administered region had deprived the state of much‑needed resources.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said last week it was unacceptable for a militia to control a quarter of the country and hold its main oil and commodities resources.
The Syrian army pressed ahead into predominantly Arab-populated areas of northeast Syria controlled by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), despite U.S. calls to halt its advance.
A government source said Kurdish-led forces were overcome after advances led by the Arab tribal fighters, allowing the government and its tribal allies to move into a stretch of territory of more than 150 km along the eastern bank of the Euphrates stretching from Baghouz near the Iraqi border towards key towns, including al-Shuhail and Busayra.
Syrian government officials said the advances effectively brought most of Deir al-Zor province — the country’s main oil- and wheat-producing area along the Euphrates — under their control.
Late on Saturday, the army also took control of the northern city of Tabqa and its adjacent dam, as well as the major Freedom Dam, formerly known as the Baath Dam, west of Raqqa.
Syrian Kurdish authorities have not acknowledged the loss of those strategic sites and said fighting continued near the dam area, accusing Damascus of breaching an agreement on the withdrawal of forces from areas east of Aleppo to expand its offensive.
Syrian Kurdish officials said factions aligned with the government were attacking their forces despite efforts to reach a peaceful outcome. The civil administration that runs the region said Damascus was intent on sowing divisions between Arabs and Kurds.
“We are at a critical juncture. We either resist or live in dignity and face all types of injustice,” their statement said, urging residents of the majority-Arab areas to stand by the SDF.
“We call on our people, especially the youth, to take up arms and prepare to resist any attack. We are facing a war for our survival,” it added.
The government had called on SDF fighters — most of whom are from Arab tribes — to defect. It says hundreds have already switched sides and joined tribal forces fighting the SDF.
Dozens of Arab tribal leaders have said they had been marginalised under Kurdish leadership, a claim the SDF denies, saying its ranks reflect the diversity of Syrian society.
(Reporting by Damascus team; Writing by Suleiman al Khalidi Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Jane Merriman)
