On July 15, a source familiar with the situation in eastern Syria told the Kurdish outlet Bas News that the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have handed over the strategic Omar oil fields to the Damascus government as a part of secret agreement between the two sides.
The source added that the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), which is the leader of the SDF, and the Damascus government have also formed a joint committee to manage the oil fields in the northeastern governorate of al-Hasakah.
Omar Rahmun, a well-known mediator between the government and the opposition, said on Twitter that units of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) were deployed in the Omar oil fields as a result of an agreement with the SDF. However, Rahmun didn’t present any evidence to support his claims.
الجيش السوري يتسلم حقل العمر النفطي من مسلحي الاكراد وهو اكبر حقول نفط سوريا ..
— عمر رحمون (@orahmoun83) July 15, 2018
During the last two months, the SDF’s leadership and the Damascus government stressed their readiness to engage in a direct dialog on many occasions. Furthermore, several sources reported that the two sides reached a secret agreement to share power in eastern Syria.
The SDF’s leadership and the Damascus government have not commented on these reports yet, which may mean that a deal is indeed in the making.


