US weighs troop deployment to Syria, Iraq warns against terror havens

The US is exploring the possibility of sending troops to Syria, Matthew Miller, Spokesperson for the US State Department, said at a regular briefing on December 17.

According to him, the US has currently no military personnel in Syria, Caliber.Az reports, citing the Department’s press service.

“We don’t have any US personnel on the ground in Syria right now outside, of course, of the coalition forces that have been on the ground for some time predating the fall of Assad. But we don’t have any other personnel there at this point,” Miller said.

He noted, “We continue to assess the situation, continue to consider when might be the appropriate time for us to send personnel into Syria to engage in a number of activities.”

According to a joint statement by Bahrain, Great Britain, Germany, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Türkiye, the United States, France, as well as the Arab Contact Group on Syria, the European Union and the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen, released by the State Department on December 14, "the political transition process" in Syria "must be Syrian-led and Syrian-owned."

In their view, this process should “lead to an inclusive, secular and representative government formed through a transparent process based on the principles of UN Security Council Resolution 2254.” The authors of the statement “emphasized their support for the mandate of the UN Special Envoy and asked the UN Secretary General to expand the UN presence on the ground”.

Meanwhile, Iraq's Permanent Representative to the UN Abbas Kazem Obaid said Syria must not be allowed to turn into a safe haven or a transit point for terrorists.

Addressing a UN Security Council meeting on the situation in Syria, Obaid noted “Syria should not become a safe haven or a transit point for terrorists. We reject any partition of Syrian territories.”

“We call for a clear roadmap to guarantee the effective participation of all Syrian forces [in the crisis resolution process]. We also call for supporting Syrians and ending the political division in the country,” he emphasized.

The length of the state border between Iraq and Syria is 599 kilometres.

Notably, in late November, Syria’s armed opposition launched a large-scale offensive against government forces. On December 8, they entered Damascus, while the army withdrew from the Syrian capital. Syria's President Bashar Assad resigned and left the country, issuing directives for the peaceful transfer of authority.

On December 10, Mohammed al-Bashir, who had led the so-called Syrian Salvation Government in the Idlib Province since January 2024, announced his appointment as head of Syria’s interim government until March 1, 2025.

By Khagan Isayev