Israel 'concerned' as US army begins withdrawing from Syria

Israel has expressed concern as the US army has already started evacuating troops from the Coneco field in eastern Syria’s countryside of Deir Ezzor, with the aim of fully withdrawing in the space of two months, various reports state.

An informed source close to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) confirmed on Tuesday to The New Arab’s Arabic language sister publication, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, that the first convoy left the base ten days ago, with one of the convoys consisting of over 70 vehicles, heavy equipment and tankers.

The source added that on Wednesday evening, over 200 vehicles left the base and that the departing forces headed to Erbil.

Israeli media further reported that Pentagon officials told their Israeli counterparts that the US intends to begin a gradual withdrawal of its forces from Syria within two months.

A senior Israeli official told the Hebrew Ynet news site that Tel Aviv believes that the move will result only in a partial withdrawal and is still working with American counterparts to convince them to keep troops in Syria.

The official further explained that Israel believes the withdrawal will increase tensions between Tel Aviv and Ankara, as it will increase Turkey’s desire to control Syria.

A US official also told Reuters that the move could reduce the number of troops it has in the country by half.

Another US official confirmed the plan for a reduction in troops, but said there was no certainty on numbers and was sceptical of a decrease of that scale at a time when President Donald Trump's administration has been negotiating with Iran and building up forces in the region.

The US base at Coneco includes a training centre, helipad and is equipped with a Patriot missile system, in addition to several Bradley fighting vehicles.

The latest developments come after reports in February stated the US Defence Department’s plans to pull troops from Syria, after comments from Trump expressing his desire to do so.

At the time, Trump was asked whether he had informed the Israeli government about pulling US troops from Syria, to which he replied: "I don’t know who said that. I mean, I don’t know who said that, but we’ll make a determination on that. We’re not getting, we’re not involved in Syria. Syria is its own mess. They got enough messes over there. They don’t need us involved in everyone".

Syria’s new government, which came into power after ousting Bashar al-Assad, has sought to rebuild the country’s ties in the region and further afield.

The US gave Syria a list in March of conditions to fulfil in exchange for partial sanctions relief, but the Trump administration has otherwise engaged little with the country's new rulers.