(Zaman Al Wasl)- The U.S. army has re-deployed some of its units in an oil-rich region in the northeastern province of Hasaka, local activist told Zaman al-Wasl.
Activist Muhannad al-Yousef said a unit of the U.S. army has been moved from al-Shaddadi town in the southern countryside to Rmailan oilfields.
The tiny deployment followed a U.S. administration's suggestion that military aid to the Kurdish-led forces may be halted.
In response, Ilham Ahmed, a member of the political arm of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces said Washington would undermine the campaign against Islamic State militants and Americans would lose their place in the region's fight against terrorism if they "turn their back" on their only ally in Syria — the Kurds, ABC News reported on Wednesday.
Over the weekend, the White House and the Pentagon said there will be "pending adjustments to the military support" to the SDF, though there was no specific confirmation the arms flow would stop altogether.
Ahmed said nothing in the statements specifically indicates the arms supply would stop, but she added that the "vague" phrasing appears aimed at appeasing Turkey. Ankara sees the Syrian Kurdish fighters as an extension of its own insurgent group it labels "terrorists."
Such vague statements can be a double-edged sword, Ahmed said. She spoke to The Associated Press in a series of text messages from northern Syria late on Monday.
The U.S. said it will maintain its "presence to fight Daesh and to reinforce stability in liberated areas." This means, Ahmed said, the administration is "starting a new phase focused on stability and administration." Daesh is the Arabic name for IS.
The SDF is now believed to be in control of about 25 percent of Syria and they fear that a U.S. withdrawal may pit them against Syrian government troops and their allies, in the absence of a political agreement.
There are now about 1,500 U.S. troops in Syria that initially came to train and support the SDF in the anti-IS campaign.
Zaman A Wasl
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