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900 US troops to be left in Syria after ‘withdrawal’

October 31, 2019 at 1:36 pm

Some 900 US troops will continue to be stationed in Syria despite President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the country, the New York Times reported.

According to the paper, at least 500 out of the original 1,000 US military servicemen deployed to Syria have already left, with the troops continuing to withdraw until around 250 remain, positioned mainly in the eastern Deir Ez-Zor province. More forces are expected to join, bringing the total number of troops guarding oil fields in Syria to around 500.

Combined with the number of American servicemen stationed in the US-controlled zone near its military base of Al-Tanf in south-eastern Syria, 900 soldiers would remain in the country, with a potential rise in the case of a re-emergence of Daesh.

Over the past few months, the US has repeatedly announced that it is withdrawing its military forces from Syria, only to be countered by later revelations that a large number of troops remain stationed in the country and more are expected to be deployed. Over the past week, some 500 US forces – along with convoys of military equipment and vehicles – reportedly entered bases in northern Syria after withdrawing only a few weeks ago.

READ: US military envisions broad defense of Syrian oilfields