US-Led Coalition Announces More than 400 US Troops Are Leaving Syria

WASHINGTON, (ST)-  The U.S.-led coalition, purportedly  fighting Daesh terrorist organization in Syria, said on Thursday that more than 400 US soldiers will return to the United States from Syria.

AFP quoted Col. Ryan Dillon, spokesman for the international coalition, as saying on Twitter that “more than 400 US Marines soldiers are getting ready to leave Syria”

In a statement the coalition said that “with the city of Raqqa liberated from Daesh, the unit has been ordered home and its replacements have been called off,” according to Reuters.

The coalition’s announcement comes after contradiction emerged regarding the number of the US forces in Syria.

 The American administration claimed that there are only 500 soldiers, but several days ago, the Pentagon acknowledged that the number is estimated at 1720 soldiers after two American military officials recently uncovered the presence of some 2000 US soldiers in Syria, most of them are from the special forces.

An official source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates recently stressed that the presence of US forces in Syria and the presence of any other foreign military forces in the country without the permission of the Syrian government is an act of aggression, an attack against the Syrian sovereignty and a flagrant violation of the US Charter and principles.

Washington established an illegal coalition without the UN Security Council approval in August 2014 under the pretext of fighting terrorism in Syria. However, facts have unveiled that the coalition repeatedly attacked infrastructure and committed massacres against civilians in Raqqa, Deir Ezzor, Hasaka and Aleppo.

The coalition, which claims that it is fighting terrorism,  was party to a deal that allowed hundreds of Daesh terrorists and their families leave Raqqa unharmed, a matter that affirms cooperation and coordination between Washington and Daesh.

Hamda Mustafa