BEIRUT (AP) The United States main ally in Syria today categorically rejected President Donald Trumps claim that Islamic State militants have been defeated, but Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed Trumps decision to withdraw forces from Syria, saying he agreed a U.S. military presence is no longer needed.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said in a strongly worded statement laced with bitterness that a premature U.S. pullout before IS is defeated would have dangerous repercussions including a resurgence of the extremist group and a destabilizing effect on the entire region.
The war against terrorism has not ended and (the Islamic State group) has not been defeated, the statement said, adding that the fight against IS was at a decisive stage that requires even more support from the U.S.-led coalition. It was the first official comment by the group on Trumps surprise announcement.
Trumps decision to withdraw troops from Syria has rattled Washingtons Kurdish allies, who are its most reliable partner in the country and among the most effective ground forces battling IS. With U.S. air support, the Kurds drove IS from much of northern and eastern Syria in a costly four-year campaign.
The announcement of a pullout is widely seen as an abandonment of a loyal ally.
The decision to pull out under these circumstances will lead to a state of instability and create a political and military void in the region and leave its people between the claws of enemy forces, the SDF statement said.
Kurdish officials and commanders met into the night, discussing their responses to the decision, local residents said today. A war monitor said among the options seriously discussed was releasing thousands of Islamic State militants and their families from various nationalities who are being detained in SDF-run prisons and camps. It was not clear whether any decision was immediately made.
Arin Sheikhmos, a Kurdish journalist and commentator, said we have every right to be afraid.
If the Americans pull out and leave us to the Turks or the (Syrian) regime our destiny will be like the Kurds of Iraqi Kurdistan in 1991 millions of refugees, there will be massacres. Neither the regime, not Iran nor Turkey, will accept our presence here, he told the AP.
The U.S. announcement came at a particularly tense moment in northern Syria. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly threatened to launch a new offensive against the Kurds but in recent days had stepped up the rhetoric, threatening an assault could begin at any moment.
Turkey views the Peoples Protection Units, or YPG, the main component of the Syrian Democratic Forces, as a terrorist group and an extension of the insurgency within its borders. U.S. support for the group has strained ties between the two NATO allies.
In northeastern Syria, Kurdish fighters have been digging trenches and defensive tunnels, preparing for the threatened offensive. Turkish tanks and armored vehicles are deployed on the border, with thousands of allied Arab Syrian fighters mobilized to join in the attack.
The threat from Turkey could drive the Kurds into the arms of Syrian President Bashar Assad, and by extension Iran and Russia.
In new tweets, Trump today defended his decision, saying it should be no surprise. He claimed that Russia, Iran and Syria are not happy about the U.S. leaving, despite what the Fake News says, because now they will have to fight ISIS and others, who they hate, without us.
The contention contradicts predictions that the Syrian government and its allies would attempt to fill the void created by the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
