Questions develop over the way forward for 2,000 Syrian Democratic Forces troops in Syria after Bashar al-Assad’s toppling and US President Trump taking workplace.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) says it has not been knowledgeable of plans reportedly being drawn up by the US army to withdraw its troops from Syria.
SDF spokesman Farhad Shami made the feedback hours after US media reported on the plan. The armed group – a key ally of the US-led coalition combating ISIL (ISIS) within the area – controls a big swath of northeast Syria, accounting for about one-third of Syria’s territory.
“In fact, ISIS and different malicious forces are ready for the chance of the US withdrawal to reactivate and attain the state of 2014,” Shami stated.
Hours earlier, NBC Information reported, citing two unnamed Pentagon sources, that the administration of US President Donald Trump is drawing up plans to withdraw US troops from Syria in both 30, 60 or 90 days.
Trump was straight requested concerning the prospect of withdrawing troops final week, saying his administration would “make a willpower on that”.
“Syria is its personal mess. They obtained sufficient messes over there. They don’t want us concerned in each one,” he stated.
Trump, who regularly vows an “America First” overseas coverage predicated on ending US army engagement overseas, initially pushed for withdrawing US troops from Syria throughout his first time period from 2017 to 2021.
He deserted the plan amid pushback from inside his personal administration, with officers warning of a backslide within the anti-ISIL battle and the implications of abandoning Kurdish allies within the area.
However hypothesis over the way forward for US troops in Syria once more grew following the toppling of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December by a insurgent coalition spearheaded by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) insurgent group. HTS chief Ahmed al-Sharaa has since turn out to be the interim chief of Syria.
Within the wake of al-Assad’s ousting, former US President Joe Biden’s administration remained adamant that US forces would stay in Syria to forestall a resurgence of ISIL, which managed massive parts of Syria earlier than its territorial defeat in 2019.
In December, the Pentagon stated about 2,000 US army personnel stay in Syria. The quantity is a big improve from the roughly 900 troops Washington had stated have been there lately. The US first deployed troops to Syria in 2014.
For its half, the Trump administration has publicly vowed to proceed to focus on ISIL fighters throughout the area. Analysts have additionally warned {that a} blanket freeze on foreign aid has lower some administrative and safety funding to Kurdish fighters overseeing ISIL jail camps in Syria, additional risking instability.
Altering dynamics
Questions over the way forward for US troopers in Syria come amid a wider realignment within the area following the autumn of al-Assad.
On Tuesday, al-Sharaa met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara. Turkiye had lengthy opposed al-Assad and supported the insurgent offensive in opposition to him.
Ankara additionally considers a number of Kurdish teams in Syria, together with the Folks’s Safety Items (YPG), to be “terrorists”. The YPG makes up a big portion of the SDF’s army wing, and combating between the group and the Turkish-backed Syrian Nationwide Military has endured because the fall of al-Assad.
Talking alongside al-Sharaa at a information convention, Erdogan vowed an elevated Turkish function in combatting each ISIL and Kurdish fighters. He thanked al-Sharaa for “the robust dedication” he has proven within the “battle in opposition to terrorism”.
Al-Sharaa, in the meantime, pledged elevated cooperation with Turkiye “to ensure everlasting safety and stability”.
In an obvious reference to the SDF, al-Sharaa added that he and Erdogan mentioned “threats that forestall territorial unity in northeastern Syria”.
The Syrian chief has rejected any type of Kurdish self-rule and urged the SDF handy over their weapons and be a part of a unified authorities.
