The Pentagon on Monday warned Syrian regime forces to stay away from areas where US forces are operating in northern Syria, after a close call last week.
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The incident Monday in the air above Hasakah, an area held by Syrian Kurdish forces battling ISIS, appears to be the closest military encounter yet between American and Syrian government forces in the two years since US jets began flying over Syria as part of a USA -led coalition’s fight against ISIS.
The comments came after Syrian government warplanes on August 18 launched airstrikes on an area near a team of USA special operations troops who were providing combat support for Syrian Kurdish rebels fighting the Islamic State group near the town of Hasakah.
If Assad has chose to take his chances and accept the possibility of hitting Americans in targeting the Kurds, it will nearly certainly lead to conflict with coalition planes.
The official told AFP that the powerful Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and Syrian forces would withdraw from Hasakeh, while the police forces of both the Kurds and the government would remain. Spokesman Peter Cook insisted the USA has warned Syria not to fly planes in the area for a long time now.
Several negotiations took place to stop the fighting between the Syrian regime and the Kurds, but they did not succeed to stop the fighting until Tuesday reaching a ceasefire agreement. “We view instances that place coalition personnel at risk with the utmost seriousness, and we do have the inherent right of self-defense when USA forces are at risk”.
But the warning appeared to fall on deaf ears. The official said the presence of American F-22 aircraft “encouraged the Syrian aircraft to depart the airspace without further incident”.
Mohammed Za’al Ali, the governor of Hasaka, said that Kurdish fighters intend to push out government forces from strategic points of the Kurdish-majority city.
Since Wednesday, clashes between the two forces have rocked the city, leaving 23 civilians – including nine children – and 16 combatants dead, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The coalition made clear to the Russians to pass along to the Syrians that USA aircraft would defend troops on the ground if threatened, the captain said.
What does Assad hope to gain by threatening Americans? United States forces are training Kurds and Arabs to fight ISIS. CNN adds that some USA forces may have also already been pulled from their positions near where the Syrians have been bombing.
If the aforementioned encounter is any indication, perhaps there won’t be any conflict between the USA and the Syrian regime.
Cook said the U.S.’s warning to the Syrian regime not to fly where USA forces are located in Syria was “not a no-fly zone”.
That prompted the US-led coalition to scramble aircraft, with Washington warning the Syrian government against strikes that might endanger its military advisers with the Kurds on the ground.
The strike came close to US Special Forces operators, who were embedded with the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), comprised of the Kurdish YPG and local Arab militias.
US Navy Captain Jeff Davis warned Damascus that the US-led coalition would do what was needed to protect its forces on the ground.
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As fighting intensified, the Syrian army deployed warplanes against the main armed Kurdish group, a first by the pro-government forces.
