US special forces with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in northern Syria, May 26
The U.S. Army has deployed additional forces in Syria in order to secure other American service members as they withdraw under President Donald Trump’s decision to pullout troops from the war torn country, the CNN TV reported on January 23 citing military officials.
According to the officials, the additional forces are needed to provide security for troops and equipment as they withdraw by land and air. They will also move around in different locations in northeastern Syria to provide additional security as the number of US forces dwindles.
Earlier this month, the US-led coalition announced that it has begun the process of deliberate withdrawal from Syria. A local monitoring group confirmed the coalition’s claim and said that 150 U.S. service members left the country.
However, hours after this announcement U.S. officials told the New York Times that the U.S. has withdrawn no troops from Syria. The statement was seen by many local observers as an attempt to manipulate Trump’s withdraw decision.
In another u-turn, a senior official had told NBC on January 5 that the U.S. may keep its forces in the al-Tanaf base in southeastern Syria for undetermined amount of time.
Despite of all of these attempts to manipulate Trump’s decision, local observers believe that the pressure from Ankara could force Washington to withdraw its forces at least from northeastern Syria.
