Order for military to exit Syria signed
Allies warn American troops leaving too early could destabilise the country even further
The order to withdraw American troops from Syria has been signed, the US military said, after President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart agreed to prevent a power vacuum in the wake of the controversial move.
The announcement that US troops would leave the civil war-racked country – where they have been deployed to assist in the multinational fight against the Islamic State (IS) – shocked global partners and American politicians alike.
“The execute order for Syria has been signed,” a US military spokesperson said.
Turkey was a rare ally that lauded Trump’s decision on Syria, a country where it will now be freer to target Kurdish fighters who are allied to the US against IS but are deemed terrorists by Ankara.
Trump and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “agreed to ensure coordination between their countries’ military, diplomatic and other officials to avoid a power vacuum which could result following any abuse of the withdrawal and transition phase in Syria,” the Turkish presidency said.
Late Sunday, Trump tweeted that Erdogan had assured him that any remaining IS fighters in Syria will be eliminated.
US politicians, including those from his own Republican party, and international allies fear the withdrawal of the roughly 2,000 US troops is premature and would further destabilise the region.
A US withdrawal, said Mutlu Civiroglu, a Kurdish affairs analyst, will open the way “for Turkey to start its operations against the Kurds, and a bloody war will begin”.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday said he “deeply regretted” Trump’s decision, and that “an ally must be reliable.”
US troops will leave under the auspices of a new Pentagon chief set to start next month, after Jim Mattis resigned from the post citing key differences, including on Syria, with the often-impulsive Trump.— AFP