US not completely withdrawing from Syria yet, with 200-member ‘peacekeeping group’ staying
- White House says 200 soldiers will remain in country after Donald Trump was pressured to leave some behind to protect Kurdish militants
The White House said Thursday that “a small peacekeeping group of about 200” US troops will stay in Syria beyond the planned withdrawal of American forces this spring.
An announcement by press secretary Sarah Sanders did not specify where the troops would be based, what their responsibilities would be, or how long they would stay, beyond “a period of time”.
A US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public, said that the 200 would be “split down the middle” between Syrian Kurdish-controlled areas in the northeast of the country, and the Tanf garrison in southeast Syria. The official said the total might rise slightly.
The decision was a partial reversal of President Donald Trump’s order, announced in December, that all 2,000 US troops in Syria would leave, since their mission to destroy the Islamic State caliphate had been achieved. Complete withdrawal was expected by the end of April.
Defence officials, lawmakers and some White House aides have expressed concern that tens of thousands of militant fighters remained scattered throughout Syria and Iraq. France and Britain, which also have troops in Syria, rebuffed a US request to leave forces there to continue operations against militant remnants and to patrol a “safe zone” along Syria’s northeastern border with Turkey unless some US troops remained.