Some US forces to remain in northeastern Syria, SDF sources say

Residual US forces will remain inside northeast Syria even after President Donald Trump formally announced yesterday that an estimated 1,000 US service members would be withdrawn from the Kurdish-controlled zone, sources linked to the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) told Al-Monitor today. At least three sources said that “some” US forces would redeploy southeast of the town of Manbij. One of the sources said they would be stationed around the Tishreen Dam. The claim could not be independently confirmed.

Reports of a redeployment follow the first-ever telephone call between Trump and SDF commander Mazlum Kobane. The sources did not elaborate on whether Trump had signed off on a residual force in that conversation. But a source close to Kobane said that after the phone call, “He sounded more relaxed than he has in the past days."

The Pentagon has been viscerally opposed to a withdrawal, which many DoD officials have privately lashed out against as a betrayal of the Kurds. It would hardly be surprising therefore that they would stay on — albeit in reduced numbers — for as long as they can.

The sources did not elaborate on the precise size of the US force or how long it's expected to remain. An SDF official speaking on condition of strict anonymity in order to discuss the matter freely said the presence of US forces in Tishreen, however brief, would help stave off putative moves by Syrian regime forces against the SDF coming from positions further south in Tabqa.