The questions develop on the future of 2,000 troops of Syrian democratic forces in Syria after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad and US President Trump who took office.
The Syrian democratic forces led by the Kurds (SDF) claim that it has not been informed of the plans that would have been developed by the US military to withdraw its troops from Syria.
SDF spokesman Farhad Shami, comments a few hours after the American media reported the plan. The armed group – a key ally of the coalition led by the United States fighting ISIL (ISIS) in the region – controls a large strip of northeast of Syria, representing about a third of the territory of Syria.
“Of course, the Islamic State and other malicious forces await the opportunity for American withdrawal to reactivate and reach the 2014 state,” said Shami.
A few hours earlier, NBC News reportedQuoting two sources of the nameless Pentagon, which the administration of the American president Donald Trump develops plans to withdraw American troops from Syria in 30, 60 or 90 days.
Trump was directly asked about the prospect of withdrawing troops last week, saying that his administration “would take a determination on this subject”.
“Syria is its own mess. They have enough damage there. They don’t need us involved in everyone, “he said.
Trump, who continuously engulfs a “America First” foreign policy based on the end of the American military engagement abroad, initially pushed to withdraw American troops from Syria during his first mandate from 2017 to 2021.
He abandoned the plan in the middle of the decline in his own administration, with officials warning a decline in the anti-isil struggle and the implications of the abandonment of the Kurdish allies in the region.
But speculations on the future of American troops in Syria increased again following the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December by a rebellious coalition led by the rebel group of Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS). HTS Ahmed Al-Sharaa has since become the temporary chief of Syria.
In the wake of the fans of al-Assad, the administration of former American president Joe Biden remained categorical that the American forces would remain in Syria to prevent an eiil resurgence, which controlled large Syria parties before its territorial defeat in 2019.
In December, the Pentagon said that around 2,000 US soldiers stayed in Syria. The number is a significant increase compared to around 900 soldiers that Washington said it was there in recent years. The United States for the first time deployed troops in Syria in 2014.
For its part, the Trump administration has publicly sworn to continue to target Eiil fighters across the region. Analysts also warned that a freezing of covers on foreign aid has reduced certain administrative and security funding to Kurdish fighters supervising ISIL prison camps in Syria, risking more instability.
Dynamic change
Questions about the future of American soldiers in Syria are involved in the midst of broader realignment in the region after the fall of al-Assad.
On Tuesday, Al-Sharaa met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara. Turkiye had long opposed Al-Assad and supported the rebellious offensive against him.
Ankara also considers several Kurdish groups in Syria, including population protection units (YPG), such as “terrorists”. The YPG constitutes a large part of the SDF military wing, and the fighting between the Syrian group and the Syrian national army supported by the Turks have persisted since the fall of al-Assad.
Speaking alongside Al-Sharaa at a press conference, Erdogan promised an increased Turkish role in the fight against fighters of ISIL and Kurd. He thanked Al-Sharaa for the “strong commitment” he showed in “fight against terrorism”.
Al-Sharaa, on the other hand, promised increased cooperation with Turkiye “to guarantee permanent security and stability”.
In an apparent reference to the SDF, Al-Sharaa added that he and Erdogan discussed “threats that prevent territorial unity in northeast Syria”.
The Syrian chief rejected any form of Kurdish autonomy and urged the homeless to hand over their weapons and join a unified government.
