Syrian army takes control of second US military base in country

This was reported by the Syrian state news agency SANA, citing Syria's Ministry of Defense, Ukrinform reports.

According to the report, the transfer of control over the Al-Shaddadi base to the Syrian government occurred three days after the Defense Ministry announced on February 12 that Syrian forces had taken control of the strategically important U.S. military base Al-Tanf in the central province of Homs, near the borders with Iraq and Jordan. The handover of Al-Tanf also took place by agreement between Syrian and American officials.

In April last year, the United States began withdrawing personnel and military equipment from the base in Al-Shaddadi, which had been under the control of the Kurdish coalition Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). At the end of January, Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and SDF Commander Mazloum Abdi reached an agreement under which Kurdish units would be integrated into government forces, and self-governing institutions established by the Kurds in northeastern Syria would become part of Syrian state structures.

In June last year, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack stated that the administration of President Donald Trump intended to retain only one of the eight military bases on Syrian territory.

As previously reported, according to the UN Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Committee, five assassination attempts were carried out last year against Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and two Syrian ministers.

Photo: AA