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A reconnaissance force from the United States military accompanied by hundreds of fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian Free Army (SFA) had entered al-Dumayr Air Base close to the Syrian capital, Damascus, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on March 31.
The air base, one of the largest and most fortified in Syria, is located some 40 kilometers to the northeast of Damascus and just under 20 kilometers to the east of the strategic M5 highway leading to the capital.
The Kurdish-led SDF, which controls large parts of northern and eastern Syria, is the U.S. main ally in the country, while the SFA is a much smaller proxy group that until the fall of the Assad regime its activists were limited to the southeastern area of al-Tanf.
In its report, the SOHR said that the U.S. was planning to take over al-Dumayr and turn it into a base for its forces. The new Syrian military and the SDF would later launch joint operations against ISIS cells in the Syrian desert from the air base, the London-based monitoring group added.
Syria’s interim government announced on March 10 that it had reached a breakthrough agreement with the SDF to integrate the group into state institutions, including the new military. At the time, the U.S. welcomed the agreement, which was reportedly brokered with its help.
Later in the month, the SOHR reported that the SFA took control over the town of al-Dumayr in coordination with the interior ministry of the interim government.
U.S. forces in Syria grew in the last few years from just around 900 troops to over 2,000, with several bases located at key gas and oil fields in SDF-controlled areas in addition to a garrison in al-Tanf blocking a strategic highway linking Damascus with the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.
THE SOHR’s recent reports about U.S. military presence in al-Dumayr Air Base and the nearby town were denied by the media office of the SFA in a statement to the Lebanese Al-Nahar newspaper. Still, it is important to note that the SFA fighters were spotted in the town and that the group does not speak for the U.S. military.
While on the surface the U.S. appears to be pushing for cooperation between its allies and the interim government, Washington may be in fact taking advantage of the recent integration agreement to position its forces closer to Damascus in order to better pressure the Islamists running the government.
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