On December 29, US Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis warned forces of the Assad government from launching an attack against US-backed forces in Syria. Mattis said that this “would be a mistake.”
The statement comes after President Bashar al-Assad slammed US-backed forces as “traitors”.
Mattis also claimed that the US is shifting its approach in Syria.
“What we will be doing is shifting from what I call an offensive, terrain-seizing approach,” he told Pentagon reporters. “You’ll see more U.S. diplomats on the ground.”
However, h did not share a timeline for when more diplomats and other personnel would arrive in the war-torn country.
Mattis’ remarks clearly show that the US is aiming to further increase its influencec in the Syrian territory held by US-backed force, often refered as “the Syrian Democratic Forces.”
According to some Syrian experts, Washington is going to de-facto separate this area from Syria and to build own puppet semi-state there.
