The US military has begun moving some equipment out of Syria, following Donald Trump’s decision back in December to withdraw troops from the war-torn country.
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An unnamed US defense official told AFP on Thursday that he confirmed removing military equipment from Syria. “For security reasons,” however, he declined to provide additional information.
The movement of the equipment is a signal that US President Donald Trump is keeping his promise to pull the nearly 2,000 military forces out from Syria.
Trump has claimed the Takfiri terrorist group has been defeated; hence there remains no reason for US troops to remain in Syria any longer.
The unexpected announcement has triggered mixed reactions from both within the country and abroad, with US Defense Secretary James Mattis resigning due to what he called policy differences with President Trump.
US Secretary of Defense Mike Pompeo, however, has vowed the decision will go ahead regardless of disapproval from US officials and allies. “President Trump’s decision to withdraw our troops has been made. We will do that,” the top US diplomat said at a joint press conference in Cairo on Thursday.
But there is no indication of a timetable for the removal of the troops.
Pompeo blamed the previous administration for the rise of the Daesh terror group in Iraq and Syria and praised the Trump administration’s actions across the region.
Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The Syrian government says the Israeli regime and its Western and regional allies are aiding Takfiri terrorist groups wreaking havoc in the country.
The US and its allies invaded the Arab nation in 2014 under the pretext of fighting Daesh. Airstrikes by the US and its allies across the Arab country have claimed the lives of over 3,300 civilians, according to the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights which is based in London.
