After a period of infighting among the insurgents, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) emerged victorious and absorbed or expelled other rebel groups from eastern Syria.

Regardless of these developments, a large part of the civilian population living under rebel and later ISIL rule remained secretly supportive of the Assad government.

The pro-opposition site Baladi News alleged that it was part of the pro-government forces that were fighting alongside the SDF against Turkey in the Afrin Region without providing any proof.

On January 23, 2025, the SDF destroyed a cell linked to the remnants of the Ba'athist regime in the Deir ez-Zor countryside and captured four Assad loyalists.

[12] The Syrian Democratic Forces vowed not to tolerate the remnants of the Assad regime who attacked the towns of Diban and al-Tayyana and committed acts of sabotage in them.