Ankara
The U.S. Special Envoy to Syria, Thomas Barak, announced that Washington intends to shut down all of its military bases in Syria except for one.
In an interview with Tüurkiye’s NTV on Monday, June 2, Barak confirmed that the United States has already begun scaling back its military presence in the country.
“We reduced our footprint from eight bases to five, then to three, and will most likely retain just one base in Syria,” Barak said.
He reaffirmed that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) remain a key U.S. ally in the fight against ISIS.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Monday, June 02, that U.S. forces had abruptly withdrawn from two major military bases in Syria’s eastern Deir ez-Zor Governorate. The report noted an accelerated pace of withdrawal over the past two days, with American military convoys, comprising armoured vehicles and logistical equipment, seen leaving the al-Omar oil field and the Koniko gas field in eastern Deir ez-Zor.
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U.S. bases in Syria are primarily located in the eastern part of the country and operate under the framework of the international coalition against ISIS, in coordination with the SDF. In addition to the eastern installations, the U.S. maintains a separate base in the al-Tanf area, near the Syrian-Jordanian-Iraqi border triangle.
In April, the Pentagon announced plans to reduce the number of American troops in Syria to fewer than 1,000 over the coming months.
