WASHINGTON DC - The United States has begun a gradual withdrawal of troops from Syria, reducing its presence by several hundred to maintain roughly 1,000 forces on the ground, a US defense official told Rudaw on Tuesday.
Asked by Rudaw about reports that Washington had started scaling back its military personnel in Syria and that several hundred troops had already been withdrawn to consolidate the force at around 1,000, the official responded, “I confirm the reports on the background.”
According to the official, US troop numbers in Syria have already been decreased from approximately 2,000 to 1,500, with plans to reach the target of 1,000 in the coming months.
“Coordination with the State Department is ongoing, and a formal announcement from the Pentagon is expected soon,” the official added to Rudaw.
This development follows a mid-April announcement by Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell, who said the “Secretary of Defense directed the consolidation of U.S. forces in Syria under Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve to select locations in Syria.”
Parnell explained that “this consolidation reflects the significant steps we have made toward degrading [the Islamic State] ISIS's appeal and operational capability regionally and globally.” He then added, “This deliberate and conditions-based process will bring the U.S. footprint in Syria down to less than a thousand U.S. forces in the coming months.”
“During the last ten years, the [US-led] Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS has made major gains, including those which led to the territorial defeat of ISIS in 2019,” the Pentagon chief spokesperson noted. Parnell further emphasized that “as this consolidation takes place,” the “U.S. Central Command will remain poised to continue strikes against the remnants of ISIS in Syria.”
Following the April 18 announcement by the Pentagon, well-placed sources on the ground informed Rudaw that the US military had begun relocating equipment from the Green Village base and the Omar Oil Field in Syria’s eastern Deir ez-Zor province, signaling the drawdown’s implementation.
Importantly, the same US defense official clarified on Tuesday that the number of troops in Northeast Syria (Rojava) is not fixed, but are adjusted according to the evolving security situation and could change as conditions evolve.
Late last year, a coalition of opposition groups led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched a swift offensive, toppling Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.
In the aftermath, the US increased the number of its troops in Syria from 900 to around 2,000, describing the deployment as a temporary measure aimed at preventing ISIS from exploiting the changing security dynamics to regroup.
