US Army Col. Ryan Dillon
Government forces had been conducting a slow build-up east of the Euphrates River, near the area where US troops were deployed, US Army Col. Ryan Dillon, a spokesman for the US-led coalition, told CNN on March 20.
He claimed that the coalition keeps a close eye on the development and is ready to defend itself.
Over the past few weeks, mainstream media outlets have released multiple speculations that Syrian government forces, assisted by alleged Russia-linked private military contractors, are preparing to attack positions of the US-led coalition’s forces.
These reports echo the US PR campaign in February 2018 when the MSM was claiming that “hundreds” of alleged Russia-linked private military contractors were killed in the US strikes on government forces positions in the province of Deir Ezzor.
Since then, the MSM has been methodically fueling rumors about a possible open confrontation in the Euphrates Valley.
