Syria's SDF Says it Has Not Received Any Plans from US Forces to Withdraw

US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters stand guard at Al-Naeem Square, in Raqqa, Syria, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022. (AP)
US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters stand guard at Al-Naeem Square, in Raqqa, Syria, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022. (AP)
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Syria's SDF Says it Has Not Received Any Plans from US Forces to Withdraw

US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters stand guard at Al-Naeem Square, in Raqqa, Syria, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022. (AP)
US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters stand guard at Al-Naeem Square, in Raqqa, Syria, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022. (AP)

Syria's Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said on Wednesday the group had not received any plans from the US forces in northern and eastern Syria to withdraw.

"Of course, ISIS and other malicious forces are waiting for the opportunity of the US withdrawal to reactivate and reach the state of 2014," the SDF's spokesperson Farhad Shami told Reuters.

At the height of its powers in 2014, ISIS imposed a reign of terror over millions of people and claimed control over swathes of the combined territories of Iraq and Syria.

The US Department of Defense is developing plans to withdraw all US troops from Syria, NBC News reported on Wednesday, citing two US defense officials.

The US considers the Kurdish-led forces key allies against ISIS but neighbouring Türkiye regards them as a national security threat.



Sudan Army Surrounds Khartoum Airport and Nearby Areas 

A fighter loyal to the army patrols a market area in Khartoum on March 24, 2025. (AFP)
A fighter loyal to the army patrols a market area in Khartoum on March 24, 2025. (AFP)
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Sudan Army Surrounds Khartoum Airport and Nearby Areas 

A fighter loyal to the army patrols a market area in Khartoum on March 24, 2025. (AFP)
A fighter loyal to the army patrols a market area in Khartoum on March 24, 2025. (AFP)

The Sudanese army is encircling Khartoum airport and surrounding areas, two military sources told Reuters on Wednesday, marking another gain in its two-year-old war with a rival armed group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Separately, Sudan's army said in a statement it had taken control of the Tiba al-Hassanab camp in Jabal Awliya, describing this as the RSF's main base in central Sudan and its last stronghold in Khartoum.

The army had long been on the back foot in a conflict that threatens to partition the country and has caused a humanitarian disaster. But it has recently made gains and has retaken territory from the RSF in the center of the country.

The army seized control of the presidential palace in downtown Khartoum on Friday.

Witnesses said on Wednesday that RSF had mainly stationed its forces in southern Khartoum to secure their withdrawal from the capital via bridges to the neighboring city of Omdurman.

The UN calls the situation in Sudan the world's largest humanitarian crisis, with famine in several locations and disease across the country of 50 million people.

The war erupted two years ago as Sudan was planning a transition to democratic rule.

The army and RSF had joined forces after forcing Omar al-Bashir from power in 2019 and later in ousting the civilian leadership.