Syrian rebels, Kurds face fallout of US withdrawal

AMMAN - US troops have not left the strategic Tanf garrison on the Iraq-Jordan border following President Donald Trump's decision to pull out of Syria, the leader of a Pentagon-backed rebel group there said on Saturday.

Colonel Muhanad al Talaa, leader of Maghawir al-Thawra whose several hundred fighters work alongside US troops at the Tanf camp, said although they were notified of Washington's decision, the situation on the ground remained as it was.

"American troops plan to withdraw completely form Syria but I don't have details and things are as they are up until this moment," Talaa said from the base.

The garrison is located in a strategic area near Syria's Tanf border crossing with Iraq at the crossroad of a main Baghdad-Damascus highway, Tehran's main arms supply route by land to Syria and Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah militia.

Russia and the Syrian government have repeatedly called on Washington to pull its troops from the Tanf base, where it has declared a 55 km (35 mile)-radius "deconfliction zone" which has become a safe haven for at least 50,000 civilians, mostly women and children, who live in the Rukban camp within it.

The garrison was first set up when Islamic State fighters controlled eastern Syria bordering Iraq but since the militants were driven out, Tanf has assumed a role as part of a US strategy to contain Iran's military buildup in eastern Syria.

Tanf is the only position with a significant US military presence in Syria outside the Kurdish-controlled north, where it has much larger air bases

Only several months ago, US marines held major rare exercises in the base in what Western military officials said was a strong message to Russia and Iran that the Americans and the rebels it supports intend to stay.

A western diplomatic source and a regional intelligence source said the decision to leave Tanf will not necessarily affect the broader US strategy against Iran, where regional power Israel will continue its aerial strikes.

Israel has in the last year hit several suspected Iranian-backed militia convoys and bases near Tanf where Iran's proxies are expanding their foothold, especially in the city of Albukamal to the northeast of the base, another intelligence source involved in Syria said.

Washington's decision means an even bleaker future for these camp dwellers for whom the camp was a safe haven as many fear retribution if they return back to their towns in Syrian government-controlled areas in eastern Syria, residents say.

Kurds wary of Turkey

Also on Saturday, a senior Kurdish official urged the US to stop Turkey launching an offensive against Kurdish areas in northern Syria, after Washington announced the withdrawal of American troops.

Washington has for years supported the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria, as part of an international anti-jihadist coalition.

Aldar Khalil, who played a key role in establishing Syria's semi-autonomous Kurdish region in 2013, said the US and its partners "must honour their commitments" while operating in the country.

"And even if they leave, they can at least work towards an international resolution," he said.

"It's their duty to prevent any attack and to put an end to Turkish threats."

Turkey accuses the YPG of being an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a decades-long insurgency against Ankara.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to drive both the YPG and IS from Syria, but delayed a planned offensive following Trump's announcement.

The US decision to withdraw prompted top political leaders from the Syrian Kurdish forces to travel to Paris on Friday with the aim of drumming up support from the French government.

Endorsing the diplomatic push, Khalil called on France to "play a positive role at the United Nations and the Security Council, in order to (table) a resolution preventing a Turkish offensive."

But he admitted the diplomatic efforts have "still not borne fruit".

The Kurdish community accounts for 15 percent of Syria's population and controls around 30 percent of the country, as a federal region declared in 2016.

The same year Turkey conducted an operation against IS, which also aimed to block the YPG from joining up the territory it held in northern Syria, and staged an offensive against the militia in its northwestern enclave of Afrin in January this year.