President Donald Trump administration on Friday deployed a military convoy in Syria to establish a new base in this Arab nation.

A caravan of 35 trucks loaded with vehicles and warfare and logistics materials headed for the city of Shadadi, in the southern Hasakeh province, 866 kilometers northeast of Damascus, as reported by outlet Ikhbariya TV.

Local activists reported on the convoy as it was traveling on the road between Deir Ezzor and Hasakeh provinces. They also mentioned that it was guarded by two helicopters and armed forces from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militia.

The U.S. maintains several bases in the Syrian oil and gas fields. Washington sponsors the SDF separatist militia, which controls large areas of the Aljazeera region.

“Over the last week, the U.S. military has sent several reinforcements and supplies to northeastern Syria, despite President Trump’s vow to decrease his country’s forces inside the country,” local outlet AMN recalled.

“The U.S. Coalition forces are mostly concentrated in the eastern part of Syria, but they do control a piece of the Homs Governorate that is located along the Iraqi border.”​​​​​​​

#US building up its forces in #Iraq near #Syria border
The #American military deployed #Patriot system to Ain Al-Assad Airbase and also brought some other missiles to protect their forces in Iraq pic.twitter.com/JvPrkX9hsd

— 🇸🇾 NadieHarbieh 🇸🇾 (@HarbiehNadie) April 11, 2020

Since the Arab Spring revolts in 2011, Syria has been going through a civil war in which President Bashar al-Assad is facing the so-called “Syrian Opposition.”

Because of the geopolitical importance of the country and its natural resources, however, external actors are also involved in supporting the contending factions in this civil war.

In 2014, the United States established an “international coalition” to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Besides having ordered airstrikes, Washington has deployed special forces and artillery units to engage ISIL on the ground.

Since 2015, the U.S. has been supporting the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria and its armed wing, the SDF.​​​​​​​

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Featured image: A woman wearing face mask walks in Damascus, Syria, March 24, 2020. | Photo: EFE