The US Has Begun Withdrawal of Its Troops from Syria: White House

Donald Trump has tweeted that ISIS has been defeated as White House announced that “US has started pulling out its troops from Syria”.

The US has begun the withdrawal of its troops from Syria, the White House said in a statement, adding, however, that the move does not mean an end of the military campaign in the war-torn country but marks a “new phase” in the fight against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS), according to RT.

 “These [victories] over ISIS in Syria do not signal the end of the Global Coalition or its campaign. We have started returning United States troops home as we transition to the next phase of this campaign,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said. She also partly echoed an earlier tweet by President Donald Trump, who also said that IS (ISIS, or Daesh in Arabic)  terrorists were defeated while calling the group “the only reason for [the US troops] being there [in Syria].”

Earlier, a US defense official told CNN that planning is underway for a “full” and “rapid” withdrawal of US troops from Syria.

The decision, which would be a reversal from previously stated US policy, was made by President Donald Trump, who  has long claimed that he plans to get out of Syria, the official added.

On Wednesday morning, the President tweeted, “we have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency,” according to CNN.

According to some reports, the withdrawal might primarily affect the troops on the ground working together with Kurdish militias, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The US has a total of 2,000 soldiers there, who are particularly involved in training the local militias.

However, even after the withdrawal, the US would still maintain a sizeable presence in the neighboring Iraq, with some 5,200 troops stationed just across the Syrian border. The aircraft of the US-led coalition – the primary tool of Washington and its allies in Syria– will also still be able to continue their air raids flying out of Qatar and other bases in the Middle East, RT said.

Following the announcement, the US official stated that in 24 hours, all US State Department staff will be evacuated from Syria adding that it is expected that the troops will return home within 60 to 100 days.  

Trump made an announcement that the US would be leaving Syria “very soon” back in March and never officially walked it back.

Syria has repeatedly called for the withdrawal of the foreign forces which are present in Syrian illegally and without the permission of the Syrian government, stressing that the presence of these forces is considered as an aggression and an occupation that violates UN principles and Charter.

H.M