Withdrawal from Syria has begun, says U.S. military official
BAGHDAD — After days of conflicting statements about a timeline for President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw American forces from Syria, a U.S. defence official said Friday the process has begun with the removal of some military cargo.
The official said the movement of equipment is part of what the military calls a “deliberate withdrawal” from Syria, where some 2,000 troops have been working with a coalition of Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters to defeat the remnants of the Islamic State group.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details that have not yet been publicly announced, provided no numbers, but said the equipment withdrawal is underway and that an unspecified number of additional U.S. troops have been brought into Syria to assist with the process, including by providing additional security.
Hours earlier, Col. Sean Ryan, spokesperson for the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group, said “the process of our deliberate withdrawal from Syria” has started. He said the U.S. would not discuss a specific timeline, locations or troop movements out of concern for operational security.
There has been confusion over plans to implement Trump’s pullout order and threats from Turkey to attack the Kurdish fighters, whom Ankara views as terrorists because of their ties to insurgents within Turkey.
Earlier this week, the U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton said American troops will not leave northeastern Syria until the IS is defeated and American-allied Kurdish fighters are protected, signalling a slowdown in Trump’s initial order for a rapid withdrawal.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict in Syria through a network of activists on the ground, said the withdrawal began Thursday night. It said a convoy of about 10 armoured vehicles, in addition to some trucks, pulled out from Syria’s northeastern town of Rmeilan into Iraq.
A senior Kurdish politician said the Kurds are aware of the U.S. beginning the withdrawal, describing it as “America’s decision.”
There are 2,000 American troops in Syria. Trump’s abrupt decision in December to pull them out, declaring in a tweet the defeat of IS, sent shock waves across the region and prompted a flurry of criticism from some of his generals.