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With all eyes on pandemic, Assad is rolling back US presence and influence.
The brutal proxy war in Syria, which has had the deep involvement of American intelligence and the Pentagon, has been wrapping up after grinding on for nine years. With the coronavirus pandemic now completely taking over the news cycle, and as Washington struggles to contain both the virus and devastating economic fallout, Syria has taken a far back seat in Western media despite the continued presence of American forces on the ground.
It seems Damascus is ready to take advantage of the situation, rolling back US influence and presence in the country. Syrian media as well as local sources say a large group of US-backed and trained fighters from al-Tanf camp, where American special forces have maintained a presence for years, have defected to the Syrian Army.
Pro-government media described it as “a major blow to the United States” in the region. Video circulated on social media purporting to show a convoy of vehicles leaving the al-Tanf region to join the pro-government side.
Yusha Yuseef 🇸🇾 on Twitter: “بالفيديو .. الجهات المختصة تتمكن بعملية نوعية من تأمين انسحاب وتسوية أوضاع مجموعة كبيرة من نخبة المقاتلين لدى المجموعات المسلحة المتمركزة في قاعدة التنف بكامل سلاحهم و عتادهم و قاموا بتسليمها للجهات المختصةشام اف ام pic.twitter.com/SyPjlzGIZ5 / Twitter”
بالفيديو .. الجهات المختصة تتمكن بعملية نوعية من تأمين انسحاب وتسوية أوضاع مجموعة كبيرة من نخبة المقاتلين لدى المجموعات المسلحة المتمركزة في قاعدة التنف بكامل سلاحهم و عتادهم و قاموا بتسليمها للجهات المختصةشام اف ام pic.twitter.com/SyPjlzGIZ5
The video was reportedly taken by a reporter with the pro-government broadcaster “Sham FM” and purports to show the defectors entering Tadmour from al-Tanf in southeast Homs province:
An 8-vehicle convoy reportedly departed the area with US military presence and drove to a Syrian Army post across the desert, where militants handed over their equipment and weapons.
The conditions of the agreement have not been made known, but negotiations had reportedly been ongoing for some time. More broadly, Damascus has pursued a ‘reconciliation’ program – offering select ‘rebel’ militant groups amnesty opportunities if they switch back to pro-government forces.
For years the Pentagon has been training and equipping the Kurdish and Arab ‘Syrian Democratic Forces’ (or SDF) — however, the Kurdish-dominated group in Syria’s northeast has lately felt betrayed by Washington last year essentially giving Turkey’s Erdogan a green light to invade northern Syria.
In particular, America’s control of al-Tanf and its border crossing into Iraq has also been consistently condemned by Russia. The US has long maintained its presence is needed to fight ISIS, but Russia has called it an imperialistic land grab of sovereign Syrian soil in order to ultimately pressure Assad.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
” … a large group of US-backed and trained fighters from al-Tanf camp, where US American special forces have maintained a presence for years, have defected to the Syrian Army.”
Those are smart boys. Bravo! Well done! I hope that the “US special forces” will vanish from Syria soon. Go home to the USA! Stay there! Do not cime back!
This is brilliant news and if it’s on Zero Hedge then it sounds authentic. The law of unintended consequences has kicked in again as more and more unexpected developments are coming to light.
Also reported on South Front with images of US weapons.,they were provided with.
TASS: Civilians in Syrian village stop US convoy, force it to return to base — Similar incidents occurred at the beginning of April in Hamo, near Qamishli and at the end of March in the northeast of the country MOSCOW, April 16. /TASS/. The residents of a small Syrian village in the countryside of Qamishli intercepted a US military convoy that had attempted to pass through the village, forcing it to retreat, the Syrian news agency SANA reports. The incident occurred in Abu Qasaib. Local villagers stopped a convoy of five military vehicles and forced the US military personnel to… Read more »
Brilliant. So love it, when the people object.
My enemy my friend was always my enemy.
Is there any doubt left that the US is a state sponsor of terrorism?
No doubt left at all, alas!
Interesting, that they are leaving US bases to rejoin Syria. Hope many more will do the same.
PRESS TV IRAN:
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/04/18/623286/US-Syrian-oil-field-COVID-19-Atwan
PRESS TV IRAN: US seeks to tighten grip over Syrian oil as Damascus is busy battling COVID-19: Analyst — Saturday, 18 April 2020 10:16 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 18 April 2020 10:16 AM ] Prominent Arab journalist Abdul Bari Atwan has said that the US seeks to consolidate its control over Syria’s northeastern oil fields as Damascus is preoccupied with tackling the COVID-19 outbreak in the war-torn country. In an opinion piece published by the Arab Rai al-Youm website on Friday, Atwan said that the US and its regional allies were seeking to facilitate the looting of Syria’s oil… Read more »