US Says It Is Not In Control Of Syrian Air Strip
Posted by admin | 8 years ago | 2,409 times
The US has said it is not in control of a Syrian air strip in response to an opposition group’s claim that American troops are supporting Kurdish fighters in northern Syria with such a takeover.
Spokesman of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said that the military "denied that US forces have taken control of any airfield in Syria".
On Wednesday, the Syrian Democratic Forces, SDF, said the US had taken control of the rmeilan air strip in Syris’s northern province of Hasakah to support Kurdish fighters against the Islamic State of iraq and the Levant, ISIL.
The air strip near the city of Rmeilan was previously controlled by the US-backed Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG). The formerly disused runway is close to Syria's borders with Iraq and Turkey.
Reports published by the Syrian Local Coordination Committees say that the US has been preparing and expanding the Rmeilan airstrip for a while now.
The US has previously supplied the SDF with weapons. It also backs the group with its air strikes in their fight against (ISIL) in northern Syria.
The SDF was founded in Syria's mainly Kurdish northeastern region in October 2015, and is made up of at least 15 armed factions - mostly fighters from the YPG and the Free Syrian Army.
The fighters include Christians, Arabs and about 500 foreign fighters, Kordsh said, adding that some groups in Aleppo and Idlib pledged allegiance to the SDF last month.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor also reported on Tuesday that the US had taken control of the airbase.
Sourcing activists, the Observatory said the airfield is still being prepared for use by the US.
Readers Comments
comment(s)
No comments yet. Be the first to post comment.
