US to eventually reduce military bases in Syria to one: US envoy

Defaced posters of Hafez and Bashar Al Assad on a wall in Damascus, Syria. (AP)
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ISTANBUL: The United States has begun reducing its military presence in Syria with a view to eventually closing all but one of its bases there, the US envoy for the country has said in an interview.
Six months after the ouster of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar Assad, the United States is steadily drawing down its presence as part of Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR), a military task force launched in 2014 to fight the Daesh group (IS).
鈥淭he reduction of our OIR engagement on a military basis is happening,鈥� the US envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack, said in an interview with Turkiye鈥檚 NTV late on Monday.
鈥淲e鈥檝e gone from eight bases to five to three. We鈥檒l eventually go to one.鈥�
But he admitted Syria still faced major security challenges under interim leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa, whose Islamist-led coalition toppled Assad in December.
Assad鈥檚 ouster brought an end to Syria鈥檚 bloody 14-year civil war, but the new authorities have struggled to contain recent bouts of sectarian violence.
Barrack, who is also the US ambassador to Turkiye, called for the 鈥渋ntegration鈥� of the country鈥檚 ethnic and religious groups.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very tribal still. It鈥檚 very difficult to bring it together,鈥� he said.
But 鈥淚 think that will happen,鈥� he added.
The Pentagon announced in April that the United States would halve its troops in Syria to less than 1,000 in the coming months, saying the IS presence had been reduced to 鈥渞emnants.鈥�