By: RFE/RL
Source: RFE/RL
The White House has clarified its plans for U.S. forces in Syria, now
saying it will leave 400 troops in the war-torn country a day after
saying the number of “peacekeepers” would be 200.
A White House official on February 22 confirmed the revised number and
said they will be based as part of the Tanf garrison in northeastern
Syria.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders on February 21 had said that a
“peacekeeping” group of about 200 troops would remain in Syria for a
“period of time.”
There was no immediate explanation for the revised figure of troops.
The U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) hailed the
U.S. decision to keep military personnel in northern Syria as a
“positive” sign, saying it might encourage other members of the U.S.-led
coalition to maintain forces in the country.
President Donald Trump denied on February 22 that his decision to leave
troops in Syria represented a backing off of an earlier pledge to pull
all U.S. forces out of the country.
“I am not reversing course,” Trump said at the White House, adding that
the number remaining was “a very small tiny fraction” of the original
U.S. force in Syria.
Trump surprised U.S. lawmakers and international allies in December by
announcing he intended to withdraw all 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria. The
president said the troops were no longer needed, asserting that Islamic
State (IS) insurgents had been defeated.
Trump received criticism from Republicans, Democrats, and some foreign
officials for what they have called a hastily planned withdrawal of the
troops, with many saying it leaves Kurdish allies at the mercy of the
Turks and hands a victory to Russia and Iran.
Ankara accuses the Kurdish fighters in Syria of having links to Kurdish separatists operating in Turkey.
Moscow and Tehran back the government of Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad in the country’s seven-year civil war and have provided key
military support to keep his government in power. The United States and
Turkey back differing antigovernment forces.
With reporting by dpa and AFP
Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.