SDF leader urges Trump to keep US troops in Syria citing 'resurging ISIS threat'

Noting recent terror attacks in the US, the Kurdish commander reiterated the threat posed by thousands of imprisoned ISIS fighters, whom US officials have referred to as 'an army in waiting'  

News Desk - The Cradle

The commander-in-chief of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), General Mazloum Abdi, has called on US President-elect Donald Trump to keep thousands of troops inside Syria during his government.

“The key factor of stabilization in this area is the US presence on the ground,” Abdi told The Guardian on 9 January, claiming that if 2,000 US troops occupying Syria's largest oil fields and a massive military base in the south are withdrawn, it would lead to the “resurgence” of “many factions, including [ISIS].”

“The recent terrorist attacks in the US itself [are] an indication to the incoming president that the terrorist threat is increasing,” Abdi added.

The Kurdish military commander also reiterated warnings that SDF-controlled prison camps holding thousands of ISIS fighters are at risk of being swarmed by extremist armed groups, which he claims are seeking to “take advantage” of the ongoing clashes between the SDF and the Syrian National Army (SNA).

“US forces withdrawal [would lead to] another chaotic situation, and this may lead to another civil war since many factions are threatening the Kurds,” the Kurdish general said.

SDF positions east of Aleppo have been under continuous attack by the SNA with support from the Turkish army since the fall of the Syrian government at the hands of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) one month ago. Similar to HTS, SNA forces include former members of Al-Qaeda and ISIS.

Hundreds of people have been killed in the fighting, including many civilians.

“If what is expected regarding the terrorist organization PKK/YPG is not done, necessary action will be taken,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said during an interview on CNN Turk late on Thursday. “That action is a military operation,” he added.

The Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) serve as the backbone of the US-sponsored SDF. The YPG has deep historical ties to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a Kurdish armed group labeled as a terrorist organization by Turkiye and several western nations. 

“Senior leaders of the terrorist organization must leave Syria,” Fidan emphasized, reiterating that Ankara's demands have been communicated through diplomatic and public channels to Washington's allies.

The SDF recently held “positive” talks with HTS leader and Syria's de facto ruler Ahmad al-Sharaa (Abu Mohammad al-Julani), hoping to become an official member of a future Syrian army. “We agree that we are for the unity and integrity of Syrian territory and reject any division projects that threaten the country's unity,” Abdi said during an interview this week.

In 2018, then-president Donald Trump tried to withdraw all US troops occupying Syria, arguing that ISIS had been defeated and that the US role in the war-torn nation should end. However, this plan was met with strong opposition from the Pentagon.

By late 2019, Trump adjusted his policy to a more “gradual” withdrawal, infamously declaring that troops would remain in Syria to “keep the oil.”

Last month, the Pentagon confirmed that at least 2,000 US troops had been deployed inside Syria for an undetermined period of time, more than double the figure Washington previously claimed to have inside the war-torn country.

The US illegally deployed troops in Syria in November 2015 to allegedly “prevent the return of ISIS.” This came just two months after Russia accepted the request of Damascus to provide air support to the Syrian army, Iranian special forces, and Hezbollah in their fight against ISIS forces who threatened to overrun the Syrian capital.