US sends more troops for Raqqa
beirut — A US marines artillery unit has deployed to Syria in recent days to help local forces speed up efforts to defeat Daesh at Raqqa and the campaign to isolate the city is going “very, very well”, the USled coalition said on Thursday.
Coalition spokesman John Dorrian said the additional US forces would be working with local partners — the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian Arab Coalition — and would not have a front line role.
The additional deployment comprises a total of 400 US forces — both marines and army rangers. It adds to around 500 US military personnel already in Syria, Dorrian said. The SDF, which includes the Kurdish YPG militia, is the
New round of Syria talks set for March 23
NEW YORK — Syria’s government and opposition groups are invited to resume peace talks in Geneva on March 23, the UN envoy said on Wednesday.
Staffan de Mistura announced the date after reporting to the main US partner in the war against Daesh insurgents in Syria. Since November it has been working with the US-led coalition to encircle Raqqa, Daesh’s main urban bastion in Syria.
This week, the SDF cut the road between Raqqa and the militants’ stronghold of Deir Al Zor province Security Council on the results of the last round of talks. “My current intention is to bring the invitees back to Geneva for a fifth round, with a target date of the 23rd of March,” he told reporters. — the last main road out of the city.
Daesh is also being fought in Syria by the Russian-backed Syrian military, and by Syrian rebel groups fighting under the Free Syrian Army banner with Turkish backing in northern Syria and Jordanian backing in southern Syria. —