US troop drawdown in Syria on hold over regime stability concerns
While American troops in Iraq hand over operations against the Islamic State to Baghdad's forces, the parallel drawdown in neighboring Syria has been halted amid concerns about the abilities of the new Islamist-led government in Damascus.
WASHINGTON — As the US military hands over the bulk of its counterterrorism mission in Iraq to Baghdad’s security forces, a parallel drawdown of American troops in neighboring Syria has been on pause for several months amid concerns about the country’s stability under the new Islamist-led government in Damascus, Al-Monitor has learned.
US intelligence assessments of the fragility of the status quo under the new government in Damascus — led by former Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader Ahmed al-Sharaa — contributed to the decision to pause the consolidation effort this past spring, two US officials told Al-Monitor.
In May, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Senate lawmakers that without US support, the Islamist coalition led by Sharaa could have collapsed “within weeks,” potentially leading to a renewed civil war.
The pause has also coincided with delays in implementation of a March agreement between officials in Damascus and the leaders of Syria’s US-backed, Kurdish-led forces to integrate their respective militias into a unified national force.
