U.S. military prevented a Russian military convoy from using an important highway in northeastern Syria, local sources said. The incident came amid growing tensions between the two sides.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors military operations with the help of observers on the ground, said Tuesday that the U.S. forces did not allow Russian military to use the main route between the two cities, Al-Hasakah and Qamishli, in northeastern Syria, which are controlled by the Kurds.
The Russian convoy was trying to cross the Border Crossing between Syria and Iraq, which is controlled by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), human rights activists said.
When the Turkish military and its allied Syrian militias launched an offensive against the SDF in October 2019 and the US withdrew from some areas near the Syrian-Turkish border, Russia, a staunch supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, increased its military presence in the north-east of the country.
After increased pressure from Congress and foreign allies, President Donald Trump decided to leave about 500 U.S. troops to protect the region’s oil fields and prevent Islamic State and Syrian government forces from capturing them.
Now both the U.S. and Russia have military outposts in the region. Tuesday’s incident is part of a series of similar incidents that have occurred in recent days between the two powers, local sources said.
“This is the third incident in a week,” said local journalist Mohammad Hassan, who claims to have witnessed another recent standoff between U.S. and Russian forces in northeastern Syria.
#BREAKING #NE_SYRIA #American_forces prevent #Russian_forces from heading east towards the #oil areas of #Remilan #NE_SYRIA pic.twitter.com/q1h0aGCMzb β MOHAMMED HASSAN (@MHJournalist) January 21, 2020
The U.S. appears to want to limit Russian presence in parts of northeastern Syria, Mohammad suggests.
U.S. and Russian officials have not yet responded to the latest developments.
Given that Syrian forces now control most of the territory once held by the rebels, experts believe the recent Russian moves in northeastern Syria are an attempt to restore the Syrian government’s power in region.
“Russia is unequivocally focused on restoring regime power in the Kurdish region,” said Radwan Badini, a Syria expert, who teaches journalism and politics at Salahaddin University in Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, in a comment to Voice of America.
According to him, such provocations by Russia would not bring any useful results for Moscow, as northeast Syria is of strategic importance to the United States in its ongoing war against the Islamic State.
(c) UAWire
How embarrassing. 3 US troops with two vehicles and a couple of machine guns stop a whole Russian convoy.
The Ruskies obeyed. The Ruskies made a wise decision.
The ruSSkis know they can’t contend with the Americans. After barbecuing hundreds of Wagner goons. losing in fist fights and yielding to the bombing of El Bagdaddy. It must be driving them crazy to correctly subordinate to the superior forces. One mistake though, and they will wish they never heard of Trump.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1219573896564834304
I expect more than 3 troops present, just outside the camera view. If the moskali shiits had pushed the situation, more forces and materiels would have been on site in minutes.
The Pootler puppets risk a major confrontation with their continual pushing.
The US made a major mistake removing troops from Iraq in 2011, which let Iran get a foothold there. Unfortunately, for world stability they must stay as peacekeepers. Pootlerstan has unfriendly peacekeepers in Moldova and Georgia along with subversive agents in God on knows where. A line must be drawn in the sand. The talking useless bobbleheads in Europe need to wake up to this reality and quit appeasing!