Obama to deploy special forces to Syria

In a move that could signal a change in the US approach to the fight against the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS), the Obama administration announced on October 30 that it would deploy special forces to Syria to advise and assist rebel forces in the fight against IS.

A VNA correspondent in Washington said White House officials announced that President Obama had instructed the Pentagon to send about 50 special forces to Syria as military advisors and that this group would only operate in a limited "advising and supporting" capacity and would not directly participate in the fight against IS.

According to another official, the move is just an “adjustment” and not a “change” to Washington’s anti-IS strategy.

Photo for illustration purposes only. Photo: AP

The source added that the US special forces will be deployed in northern Syria and may coordinate with Kurdish forces and their allies as part of the “Syrian Democratic Forces” group.

US officials also confirmed that Washington has no plans to increase troops to Iraq, but will likely reallocate existing forces to cooperate more effectively with Iraqi forces.

In addition, Washington will also reinforce the forces stationed at Incirlik air base in Türkiye with A-10 ground attack aircraft and F-15 fighter jets.

The decision marks the first time the US has deployed troops on the ground after more than a year of ineffective air strikes.

The move took place in the context of the Expanded International Conference on resolving the Syrian crisis taking place in the Austrian capital Vienna with the participation of representatives of 17 countries and two delegations from the European Union (EU) and the United Nations.

The 17 countries attending the conference include Russia, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, Iran, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Jordan, Germany, France, Egypt, Italy, the United Kingdom, Iraq, Lebanon, Oman and China.

The meeting is expected to be the first step towards a political settlement of the crisis in Syria, with the key issue being the role of President Bashar al-Assad in the future of this Middle Eastern country./.

According to Vietnam+