"It is not known what surprises the owners could leave": the military police of Russia occupied the former US base in Syria

Russian military police took control of an airfield located near the city of Kobani in northern Syria. Previously, there was an American military base, but the object was abandoned. Representatives of the military police told reporters that the United States used a field airfield in the area of ​​the Metras settlement to supply its bases and supply military assistance called the moderate opposition.

The Americans left the facility on Wednesday, November 13, after which the helicopters of the Russian Army’s air force were quickly transferred to the airfield to prevent the previous owners of the base from damaging the runway. The object was under the protection of the military police.

Russian units were relocated to the Kobani region to prevent damage to the airfield infrastructure, - earlier the Americans had already resorted to such tactics, a senior inspector of the military police told RIA Novosti. So, in October, SANA reported that the US military destroyed its own air base in the Syrian province of Al-Hasaka before withdrawing all its forces from there.

“Our unit began to guard the airfield and the territory of the military base, organizing perimeter patrols and combat security at equipped firing positions,” a spokesman for the military police said.

“At present, sappers are checking the object for the absence of explosive objects, it is not known what traps and surprises the former owners could leave,” he added.

It is noted that in the territory of the abandoned base there remained modules for comfortable living with air conditioning, an autonomous energy supply system, mobile hygiene complexes designed to serve about a hundred people, as well as a fitness area with exercise machines, books and movie discs. Such a well-developed infrastructure suggests that US units "planned to settle in Syria for a long time," said a spokesman for the military.

According to the head of the Center for the Reconciliation of the warring parties, Sergey Zhmurin, in the near future in the settlement of Metras there will be a center for issuing humanitarian aid for local residents.

“Today we begin to carry out humanitarian assistance, provide medical assistance to residents and return them to a peaceful life,” Zhmurin said.

In an interview with RT, Yuri Rogulev, director of the US Roosevelt Foundation for the Study of the Moscow State University, noted that the hasty exodus of American forces from northern Syria occurred in connection with the launch of the Turkish operation "Source of Peace", which Ankara launched in October.

“The US forces were between two fires - between the Kurds and the Turks, so they decided to get out of there. In addition, the President of the United States had no plans to get involved in even larger-scale conflicts over the Kurds. And in this situation, the States decided to sacrifice the Kurds, and withdrew their troops, ”the expert said.

He noted that it was a relatively small amount of forces and the number of objects, so the withdrawal of American forces occurred quickly. However, Washington could not achieve the desired diplomatic effect, the expert believes.

“Of their two allies, they sacrificed Kurds in favor of Turkey. True, this did not bring them much success, ”Rogulev believes.

“An important resource for our American colleagues”

At the same time, American forces remain in Syria, and the Russian side again called for a complete cessation of this illegal presence. Such a statement was made by the first deputy representative of Russia to the UN Dmitry Polyansky, speaking at a meeting of the UN Security Council on Syria.

Recall that at the end of October, US President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of US forces from the northern regions of the SAR. However, it later became known that Washington plans to maintain under its control a number of oil fields in Syria.

“Syria should be immediately freed from an illegal foreign military presence, even if such an important resource as our American colleagues is at stake,” Polyansky quotes TASS.

He added that the return of Syria's oil fields by the United States could be Washington’s real contribution to humanitarian assistance to the people of the Arab Republic.

Polyansky noted that from the point of view of the Syrians, "the actions of the Americans look like robbery and robbery."

Successful Patrol

We add that recently in the north-east of Syria, there are joint Russian-Turkish patrols. On the eve of the Ministry of Defense announced the completion of the sixth in a row such a patrol.

The department said that the composition of the joint patrol included eight units of military equipment. We are talking about the armored vehicles “Tiger” and “BTR-80” of the Russian military police and armored vehicles of the Kirpi of the Turkish border service. About 50 servicemen of both states participated in the operation.

From the air, airborne patrols of the area were carried out by helicopter crews of the Russian Aerospace Forces. The situation was monitored in real time by the Orlan-10 drone of the Russian military police.

The patrolling of northern Syria by Russian and Turkish forces is part of a memorandum of understanding signed by the presidents of the two countries in Sochi on October 22.

As part of this effort, Russian military police, in collaboration with the Syrian and Turkish border services, help ensure public safety and the rule of law. Russian forces also monitor compliance with the clauses of the agreement regarding the withdrawal of Kurdish self-defense units and their weapons to a depth of 30 km from the border.