US Forces Refuse to Enter Al-Tabaqa Airbase for Fear of Syrian Army Attack

The Arabic-language al-Watan daily quoted a number of tribal forces’ commanders as saying that “handing over the al-Tabaqa base to the US forces is not logical for various reasons”, adding that reconstruction of the airport needs a long time which is impossible for now.

“The second and more important reason is the short distance between al-Tabaqa base and the positions of the Syrian army men,” the sources said, adding that the army soldiers are deployed in regions only 4km away from al-Tabaqa, “so Washington does not intend to accept the risk of deploying its soldiers and planes in the missile and artillery fire range of the Syrian army units”.

A Russian-language daily reported on Saturday that the SDF were to hand over al-Tabaqa airbase in Western Raqqa to the US forces, adding that Washington intended to oust the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Izvestia quoted SDF sources as saying that they would hand over al-Tabaqa military airport, 60km West of Raqqa city, to the US forces.

The Russian Defense Ministry sources also confirmed the revelation.

Some other Kurdish sources also said that based on negotiations between the US forces and SDF, the al-Tabaqa base would be used by the US army.

Syrian Parliamentarian Saji Tomeh, meantime, said that Washington was paving its way to launch an offensive on the Syrian army, adding, “We are witnessing reinvigoration of the US military presence in Syria. The US is doing whatever it wants through the assistance of its allied Kurds and in return for separation from Syria.”

Izvestia also quoted Russian sources as saying that in a recent meeting with Moscow representatives, the US officials insisted on regime change, and refused to start any kind of cooperation with Moscow to end Syria’s crisis before Assad steps down.