Alwaght- Syria asserted on Thursday that the entry of 150 US troops into Syrian territory is totally rejected and illegitimate.
“We received with deep concern the news that 150 US troops have entered the Syrian territory into Rmeilan area,” the country’s foreign ministry said in a statement posted by the country’s news agency SANA.
The ministry expressed Syria’s strong condemnation of this move, dismissing it as a “blatant act of aggression that constitutes a dangerous intervention and a gross violation of the Syrian sovereignty.”
“This intervention is rejected and illegitimate, and it happened without the Syrian government’s approval,” the source said, reiterating that this move transgresses against the international laws and conventions as it is a “direct attack” that violates the Syrian territory.
While stressing its total rejection of this act of aggression, Syria calls on the international community to take all necessary measures to stop it, the source noted.
US President Barack Obama announced Tuesday that 250 special troops will be sent to Syria in the coming weeks.
Russian media revealed Wednesday that a first batch of US army personnel, including 150 soldiers and officers, arrived safely to the Kurdish controlled Rumeilan Military Airport in the eastern Syrian province of Hasakah.
Meanwhile Russia wants to know more details about U.S. plans to bolster its special forces in Syria, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.
Russia holds enough forces at its Hmeymim air base in Syria to safeguard the ceasefire and assist Syrian government forces in fighting terrorists from ISIS and the Al Nusra Front, General Sergei Rudskoi, a senior Russian Defence Ministry official has said.
Many have been critical of Obama’s decision to deploy additional troops to Syria. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh told Democracy Now that he was "horrified" by the announcement, while former UN Assistant Secretary-General Hans-Christof von Sponeck referred to it as a "tragic "development" that could hamper the Geneva peace process.
"I do not understand why [Obama’s] decided to jump into a war that [is] being won right now by the Syrian army and its allies, including Russia," Hersh said. "I can just speculate that our anti-Putin, anti-Russian instinct in America continues apace. That’s all."
The journalist further praised Moscow’s counterterrorism campaign in Syria. "The real winner in the last year or so of the war there has been the Russians. And the Russians – the bombing was much more effective," he noted.
Russia has largely withdrawn its forces from Syria following a five-month-long limited engagement and has focused on pushing for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis.
On Syria, Obama had repeated several times the phrase, “no boots on the ground” , but not anymore. On Monday, he told the world at least 250 US troops would soon be fighting inside the country. The first time Obama broke his 2013 promise of no “American boots on the ground in Syria” was when he sent 50 US special operations forces to Syria last year, claiming the move as a “counterterrorism” measure and not a step closer to a ground invasion.
Since Obama has broken his promise involving ground troops in Syria, we can expect the same about-face in Libya.“There’s no plan for ground troops in Libya,” Obama said at a press conference in London during his European tour last week. He added: “I don’t think that’s necessary. I don’t think it would be welcomed by this new government. It would send the wrong signal.” One can imagine it’s only a matter of time before that statement is proven false.
Last week also Obama called for more troops and gunships into Iraq. The deployment was confirmed days later during a surprise visit to Iraq by US Defense Secretary Ash Carter who said 217 additional troops are set to arrive in the Arab state.
The US-led coalition has been carrying out alleged airstrikes against ISIS n Iraq and Syria since mid-2014.However, the US involvement in Syria began without the approval of the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad.
Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. According to a February report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people, injured 1.9 million others, and displaced nearly half of the country’s pre-war population of about 23 million within or beyond its borders.
Syria blames the Western countries especially the United States and its regional allies including the Israeli regime, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar of funding and arming terrorist groups operating inside the country.
