Washington denies building a base in the northeast of the country – RT in French

As videos circulate showing Americans reinforcing their positions in the northeastern Syrian town of Kobani, the Pentagon has said there are “no plans to build” such a base. Nearly 2,000 American troops are stationed in Syrian territory, according to the Pentagon.

In the wake of the Syrian chaos, some information has gone somewhat unnoticed. The United States is suspected of building a “base” in Kobane, a town in northeastern Syria, also called Ain el-Arab in Arabic, in order to strengthen its position in the area. For several days, various videos showing processions of construction trucks, transporting concrete blocks, have been relayed on social networks.

“There are no plans to build an American base in Kobane,” declared January 3, during a press briefing, the deputy spokesperson for the Pentagon, Sabrina Singh, claiming not to know of “ where does this idea come from?

“As you know, we have certainly encouraged and welcomed the cessation of violence between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF, Kurds, editor’s note) and other forces in this region,” she added, before specifying “ “We continue to work and focus on our mission, which, as you know, is to ensure the lasting defeat of the Islamic State.”

2,000 American soldiers deployed in Syria

In mid-December, the Pentagon announced that it had around 2,000 soldiers on site in the regions controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces, led by Kurdish factions, or double the 900 advanced until then. This presence on Syrian territory has been criticized on numerous occasions by the former administration of Bashar al-Assad, describing it as “illegal”.

Upon the fall of the former Syrian president, the Pentagon also admitted on December 20: “these additional personnel […] are considered temporary forces to support the mission [contre l’État islamique] and the forces that are deployed there in the longer term.

Trucks loaded with construction materials were notably seen heading towards Kobané, under FDS escort. According to sources cited by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), American forces intend to establish a “new military base in Ain el-Arab, in light of growing security and military tensions in this region.”

US forces are also located at two military bases, namely Green Village, near the al-Omar oil field in Deir ez-Zor province, and Al-Tanf, near the borders with Jordan and Iraq.