The Pentagon has decided to increase the grouping of troops in Syria due to recent incidents with Russian military personnel in the north-east of the Arab republic.

This is reported by the NBC channel with reference to the officials of the US Department of Defense.

“These actions, including reinforcements (US Armed Forces. -

RT

), are a clear signal to Russia about the need for mutual respect for conflict resolution processes, as well as to Russia and other parties that unprofessional, unsafe and provocative actions in the north-east of Syria ", - quoted by the journalists of one of the speakers of the Pentagon.

It is reported that in the near future, six Bradley infantry fighting vehicles of less than 100 troops will be deployed to the Arab Republic.

They are expected to stay in the SAR for 90 days.

Recall that back in December 2018, US President Donald Trump announced his intention to withdraw American troops from the Arab Republic.

He explained his decision by the defeat of the "Islamic State"

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According to him, the fight against terrorists was the only reason for the deployment of troops in the SAR. 

However, in 2019, the American authorities have adjusted their plans.

Trump announced the new mission of the US army in Syria to "guard" the oil fields.

At the same time, according to the head of the White House, the United States will dispose of these assets at its own discretion.

According to the plans announced earlier, about 400 US troops were to remain in the SAR.

At the same time, as of February last year, about 2 thousand American soldiers and officers were deployed in the republic.

The exact number of troops currently in Syria has not been officially announced, but according to Politico, about 500 American troops are stationed in Syria. 

Earlier, the State Department indicated that there were no plans to reduce the number of United States formations in the SAR.

Commenting on the situation with the withdrawal of troops from foreign countries in mid-September 2020, Trump said that US troops are present in the oil-rich areas of the Arab republic. 

"Attempted to block"

The reason for the increase in the number of US troops in Syria was an incident in late August between Russian and American military personnel, during which, according to Washington, seven members of the American army were injured.

As a result of the accident, US soldiers were diagnosed with signs of mild concussion.

In a statement released by the Pentagon on August 27, it is said that "Russian forces violated the agreement on the prevention of conflicts in Syria and injured American servicemen with their deliberately provocative and aggressive behavior."

  • Russian and American armored vehicles

  • AFP

  • © Delil Souleiman

As stressed in the US Department of Defense, the Russian side was notified of the readiness of the United States to "vigorously protect" military personnel in situations where "their safety will be threatened."

At the same time, the Pentagon expressed hope for a return "to the usual and professional (mechanism) of conflict prevention."

Moscow has counterclaimed the United States.

According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Russian troops in the SAR did not violate the agreements and acted in response to the attempts of the Americans to block the movement of the military police convoy of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, about the movement of which the forces of the international anti-terrorist coalition led by the United States were notified in advance.

“Despite this, in violation of the existing agreements, the US Armed Forces attempted to block the Russian patrol.

In response to this, the military police of the RF Armed Forces took the necessary measures to prevent the incident and further fulfill the assigned task, ”the RF Defense Ministry explained.

According to Pentagon officials, one of the Russian vehicles deliberately drove into an armored vehicle of the US Armed Forces.

Then several Russian helicopters flew over the scene at extremely low altitude.

Captain William Urban, a spokesman for the US Central Command, described the behavior of the Russian military as a provocation.

From the point of view of the American command, the Russian vehicles left the agreed patrol zone without warning.

However, as the head of the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of Warring Parties in Syria, Colonel Alexei Posunko, said, the route of movement and the composition of the Russian convoy had been previously agreed with US officers.

Despite this, the patrol of the Russian Armed Forces was pursued by two American MRAP armored vehicles after entering the IAC (International Anti-Terrorist Coalition) control zone, Posunko noted.

  • American armored vehicles in Syria

  • AFP

  • © Delil Souleiman

"Lost gloss"

As the experts noted, this is not the first time that Russian servicemen have to respond to American provocations in Syria.

The main reason for the aggressive behavior of the US Armed Forces in the Arab Republic was the collapse of efforts to destroy the statehood of the SAR. 

“The Americans are used to acting from a position of strength and are now very unhappy with the fact that they received a worthy response.

As far as I understand, two cars collided during the incident and the American crew received a concussion.

It remains to be hoped that this accident will sensitize the US command, which is constantly provoking an increase in tension in Syria, "said Andrei Koshkin, a member of the Association of Military Political Scientists, in an interview with RT.

As the expert suggests, Washington used this road incident in Syria to build up a military grouping.

According to Koshkin, the American authorities, most likely, considered that the units deployed in the SAR were not able to cope with the tasks assigned to them.

“The United States has not withdrawn its troops from war-torn Syria, and I think that they will gradually return to the position of increasing the number, it just needs at least some reason in the absence of real threats.

In my opinion, what Trump declared earlier was just an imitation of leaving Syria, ”Koshkin said.

Meanwhile, Moscow views the presence of American troops in Syria as an "occupation."

According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, in the territories of the SAR, controlled by the United States and its allies, there is a difficult socio-economic situation, which leads to protests of the local population.

"The illegal presence of the American military contingent in the Syrian Trans-Euphrates serves as the main factor of social and political instability, hinders the development of dialogue between the various parties to the Syrian conflict and the restoration of peaceful life," says one of the messages of the Center for the Reconciliation of Warring Parties and Control over the Movement of Refugees in the Syrian Arab Republic.

In a commentary on RT, Konstantin Blokhin, a researcher at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, recalled that the presence of American units in Syria is absolutely illegal: US troops operate in the republic without the sanction of the UN Security Council and without the permission of the official government of Syria.

According to the expert, the United States is interested in maintaining control over the oil fields in the northeast of the SAR and maintaining military and political tension in the country.

Blokhin is confident that the deployment of the American armed forces does not allow the Syrian government to fully restore the country's territorial integrity and improve the state of affairs in the economy.

“The masks were finally torn off when the war with IS ended.

The United States has no reason to stay in Syria, but each time it finds a new reason not to withdraw and even increase its troops.

However, time still plays into the hands of Moscow and Damascus.

And the incident with the Russian military once again demonstrates that the United States army has lost the gloss of the imperial legion, which everyone is afraid to challenge, "Blokhin summed up.

* "Islamic State" (IS) - the organization was recognized as terrorist by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of December 29, 2014.