Friday, February 22, 2019

US to Retain 200 Troops in Syria after Pullout; Troops to Protect Kurds Who Helped Defeat IS

The U.S. will leave "a small peacekeeping group" of 200 American troops in Syria for a period of time after a U.S. pullout, the White House said today (February 22, 2019), according to the Reuters website.

President Donald Trump had ordered a complete withdrawal of the 2,000 American troops in Syria in December.

However, Trump has been under much pressure from several advisers to adjust his pullout policy to ensure the protection of Kurdish forces, who played a major role in defeating the Islamic State (IS) militants. Turkey has said it plans to attack the the Kurds -- whom it considers a terrorist group -- after the U.S. withdraws from Syria.

It is unclear how long the 200 American troops would be expected to remain in Syria, or where exactly they would be deployed.

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