Thousands of US soldiers are in northeast Syria helping to contain a resurgence of IS [Photo by DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images]
The commander of US forces in the Middle East met with the leadership of the Syrian Democratic Forces on Thursday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced.
In a statement released on Thursday CENTCOM said that General Michael Erik Kurilla travelled to northeast Syria alongside Major General Kevin Leahy and Brigadier General Michael Brooks, involved in anti-Islamic State (IS) operations, to discuss the threat of IS and the situation in Syria.
The statement also said Kurilla visited camps housing thousands of IS fighters and their families, including al-Hol and al-Roj camps which house a total of 40,000 people.
“Without International repatriation, rehabilitation, and reintergration efforts, these camps risk creating the next generation of ISIS,” the statement read, adding that 9,000 ISIS detainees were held by the SDF; “a literal and figurative ‘ISIS Army’ in detention.”
As well as visiting Syria, the statement said Kurilla visited Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea, Egypt, Lebanon, Israel, Iraq and Jordan during an eight-day tour.
US concern over the presence of thousands of IS fighters in northeast Syria comes amid fighting between the Kurdish-led SDF and Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) since December.
Commander of the SDF Mazloum Abdi confirmed he had met all three in a statement released on Friday adding that the US played a critical role in bringing about a ceasefire between the two.
“We reaffirm the importance of strengthening partnerships and the critical role of the U.S. in achieving a permanent ceasefire in northeast Syria and ensuring security and stability across the entire country,” the statement read.
Fighting has been raging between the SDF and SNA in northeast Syria since the middle of December, when the latter began an offensive to take the city of Manbij in the Aleppo countryside.
Even amid the ceasefire, fighting has been ongoing around Tishreen Dam following the capture of the city of Manbij in December. Since the start of the fighting around 400 people have been killed, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Turkey has been exerting pressure on Syrian parties and the international community about the future of the northeast, which Turkey views as a safe haven for the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which it has been fighting a four-decade war with.
Against this backdrop, high level talks took place between Abdi and former president of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq Masoud Barzani on Thursday, discussing intra-Kurdish ties and developments in recent Syria.
Additionally, SDF leaders have been meeting Syria’s transitional government, led by Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, about integrating the northeast and the SDF into a unified Syrian government and defence ministry.
