Trump: No Timetable for Syria Withdrawal

Local Editor

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the United States would get out of Syria “over a period of time”, claiming that he wants to protect the US-backed Kurds in the country as Washington draws down troops.

 Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House that he never gave a four-month timetable for the withdrawal, which he announced last month against the advice of top national security aides and without consulting lawmakers or US allies.

Trump’s comments came as Turkey-backed Syrian forces and Kurdish fighters withdrew from the front lines near Manbij in the northeast, according to Syria’s Defense Ministry, in an apparent sign of de-escalation around the flashpoint city.

Pro-Ankara reinforcements that had recently been sent to support operations in Manbij withdrew to bases on the outskirts of the city, the so-called Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said.

“According to information, approximately 400 Kurdish fighters have left Manbij so far,” the ministry said in a statement. Their departure was in line with an agreement “for the return of normal life to the area of northern Syria,” it said.

The ministry published online a video of dozens of vehicles travelling along an unmade road carrying armed militants, some waving the flags of the Kurdish-led People’s Protection Units [YPG] militia - the strongest element in the SDF - and its female counterpart the YPJ.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team