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Hamas: We affirm our readiness to immediately begin a round of indirect negotiations to reach an agreement on the points of contention
Hamas: We welcome the continued Qatari and Egyptian efforts to end the war waged by the Zionist occupation against our people
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Israeli occupation forces blew up Noura Al-Kaabi Hospital, designated for kidney dialysis patients, in the northern Gaza Strip
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Israeli drone targets a car on the Ayta al-Shaab-Debel road in southern Lebanon
Yemeni Armed Forces Spokesperson Yahya Saree: The remaining airlines that have not yet complied with the ban are urged to take this into serious consideration to ensure the safety of their aircraft and passengers
Yemeni Armed Forces Spokesperson Yahya Saree: The YAF, after successfully imposing a partial ban on air traffic at Lydd Airport, are now working to impose a full ban on air traffic at the aforementioned airport in the coming period
Yemeni Armed Forces Spokesperson Yahya Saree: YAF's UAV Unit carried out three military operations targeting three vital Israeli sites in the occupied Palestinian areas of Yafa, Isdud, and Umm al-Rashrash, using three drones
Yemeni Armed Forces Spokesperson Yahya Saree: The operation successfully achieved its objective, causing millions of Zionist settlers to flee to shelters and bringing airport operations to a halt
Yemeni Armed Forces Spokesperson Yahya Saree: YAF targeted Lydd Airport in the occupied Yafa area (Tel Aviv) with a hypersonic ballistic missile
Israeli media: Ben Gurion Airport airspace sut down following missile launch from Yemen

US-trained Syrian factions await their role post-regime: NPR

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: News websites
  • 1 Jan 2025 20:54
  • 1 Shares
3 Min Read

A senior US military official says that expanding the US role in Syria would necessitate dialogue with any new Syrian government.

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  • Syria
    Syrians and fighters celebrate after the Syrian government collapsed in Damascus, Syria, Sunday, December 8, 2024 (AP)

A report by NPR wrote that when Salim Turki al-Anteri led his opposition forces into battle against regime troops in southern Syria earlier this month, he faced his own former tank unit.

Anteri, a colonel and commander of the Syrian Free Army (SFA), a small opposition force trained by the US prior to the former Syrian regime's fall, spoke with NPR from his base near a remote US military outpost in southern Syria. Al-Anteri had joined ISIS where he served as an Emir, and then left it to join the US-trained SFA later on in 2017.

His unit, comprising around 600 fighters, is among dozens of former opposition groups awaiting integration into the new Syrian security forces. Their future role is to be determined under Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

The occupation base at al-Tanf, originally established by US Special Forces, has played a critical role in training Syrian opposition fighters, including Anteri's group. Situated approximately 200 miles from Damascus on the main highway to Baghdad, it symbolizes the extensive US involvement in the region.

The Syrian regime collapsed in a swift offensive by opposition forces in December, controlling the country with minimal resistance after over a decade of civil war.

Anteri attributes the lack of resistance from regime soldiers his forces encountered to their awareness of US support for the SFA. In addition to wearing patches with Syrian insignias, Anteri instructed his fighters to include patches bearing the American flag, NPR highlighted.

US involvement in Syria hinges on incoming Trump administration policy

Since severing diplomatic relations with Syria in 2012, the US has maintained occupation bases in southern and eastern Syria outside Syrian legal authority under the US-led coalition allegedly established to counter ISIS.

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NPR cited a senior US military official as saying that expanding the US role in Syria would necessitate dialogue with any new Syrian government.

"We don't want to start just tromping around Syria," the official said, requesting anonymity as he was not authorized to speak publicly. 

"It would be better if we understood how they felt about that and open that discussion with them before we do anything."

Pending such discussions, the US plans to continue launching airstrikes against ISIS and supporting Syrian forces it trains and advises, he pointed out.

The future of US involvement also hinges on policy decisions by the incoming Trump administration, the report added.

It mentioned that the dissolution of the US-led anti-ISIS coalition, driven by the Iraqi government, will be replaced by bilateral agreements. Under the current agreement, US forces will remain in federally controlled Iraq until the end of this year and in the Iraqi Kurdistan region until the end of 2026.

Meanwhile, the continuing US troop presence in northeastern Syria serves to protect oil fields in the region.

Although ISIS has been significantly weakened since its control of large parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014, the group still maintains a presence in Syria, including near historic Palmyra, which is Anteri’s hometown.

As these developments unfold, former opposition groups like Anteri’s await decisions regarding their roles in the emerging national security framework. the NPR report concluded.

Read more: Syria's leadership fills top army roles with HTS members, foreigners

  • Syria
  • United States
  • New regime forces
  • Regime change in Syria

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