Top US general meets with Syria’s Kurdish forces after Assad falls
Washington has laid out its conditions for supporting post-Assad governance but appears reluctant to leverage its military foothold in Syria as Turkey-backed rebels continued to attack the Kurdish-led SDF, threatening the fragile cohesion among US-backed militias seen as essential to keeping a lid on the dangerous remnants of Islamic State group.
WASHINGTON — The top commander of US forces in the Middle East, Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, met with American military and Kurdish militia commanders in Syria on Tuesday as Washington laid out its conditions for recognizing a post-Assad political transition in Damascus.
Kurilla visited several bases in the country's northeast and “received a firsthand assessment of force protection measures, the rapidly evolving situation and ongoing efforts to prevent ISIS from exploiting the current situation,” CENTCOM said in a press release following his departure.
The top general’s visit came two days after Islamist rebels seized control of the country’s capital, Damascus, ending the 24-year rule of President Bashar al-Assad.
The Pentagon said it was staying out of that fight. But US President Joe Biden announced on Sunday that US troops will stay put to “help ensure stability in eastern Syria,” including by maintaining security at prisons that hold some 9,000 suspected Islamic State (ISIS) fighters captured during the war.
