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Britain and France oppose US withdrawal from Syria
The UK and France have expressed their opposition to President Trump’s decision to withdraw US troops from Syria.
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said yesterday that: “The advance through Hajin is a huge milestone and shows that [ISIS] are being pushed further back into the shadows. Make no mistake though, although this is another significant battle won, much hard work still lies ahead to ensure we win the war.”
The UK is a major contributor to the campaign (‘Operation Shader’) against ISIS, with 850 UK personnel in Iraq and Syria. Though officially there are no UK ground forces, it is reported that the SAS are fighting ISIS in Syria. The UK has conducted 1,700 airstrikes and thousands of sorties providing approximately a quarter of intelligence and surveillance to the anti-ISIS coalition.
French Defence Minister Florence Parly said: “[ISIS] has not been wiped from the map nor have its roots. The last pockets of this terrorist organisation must be defeated militarily once and for all.” France’s Europe Minister Nathalie Loiseau said France will continue to uphold its commitments in Syria because “the fight against [ISIS] is essential”. France has about 1,100 troops in Iraq and Syria providing logistics, training and heavy artillery support as well as fighter jets.
A report in Reuters said US officials confirmed that the US withdrawal of troops will also mean an end to the US air campaign in Syria. Another US official, however, cautioned that a final decision had not yet been made, and did not rule out some kind of support for its anti-ISIS Coalition allies.
US Central Command said in a statement: “As long as there are U.S. troops on the ground we will conduct air and artillery strikes in support of our forces. We will not speculate on future operations.” In August the Defence Department indicated ISIS had 20,000 – 30,000 fighters still in Iraq and Syria.
The US-led air campaign against ISIS has been critical to rolling back the terrorist group. According to Air Force data, more than 100,000 bombs and missiles were fired at targets in the two countries since 2015.