ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A unit from Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian National Army confronted a US military convoy in a village associated with the town of Tal Tamr in Syria's western Hasaka province on Sunday, a Syrian army source told Rudaw’s office in northern Syria. “A Syrian army unit intercepted and blocked an American convoy today, Saturday, at 1pm,” the source said. “The American convoy was made up of three armored vehicles, which attempted to enter the village, but were forced to return,” they added. A video obtained by Rudaw on Sunday shows a regime force unit aggressively confronting a US convoy in Tal Tamr’s Mansaf Tahtani village, and forcing them to leave the area. The video shows what appears to be a regime force commander, accompanied by several other soldiers from the Syrian army, challenging a US soldier in the village. “Come on turn back and leave immediately,” the Syrian commander told a US soldier standing by their military vehicle, swatting the soldier away with his hand. The commander then asks the translator accompanying the US convoy, “what does he want?” and asks him to translate, and says “I swear if they come back here, I will burn all the vehicles with them." Then the US military vehicles begin to withdraw and leave the area while the members of the regime forces shout “go away”. Rudaw English contacted the spokesperson for the US-led coalition on the matter and is waiting for a response. This is not the first time Syrian national army units have had confrontations with the US troops in Syria. In February, an American military convoy came under attack from civilians and militias loyal to President Bashar al-Assad's regime in the Arab village of Khirbet Amo, southeast of the northeast Syrian city of Qamishli. The US said it had "completely withdrawn" from northeastern Syria in late 2019, according to statements made by US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. However around 600 soldiers remain across parts of the country to protect oil fields from the Islamic State (ISIS), according to Reuters. The withdrawal of US troops in early October prompted international outcry as Turkish-backed forces invaded the areas held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) since the defeat of ISIS. Operation Peace Spring, greenlit by the decision of Commander-in-chief President Trump, saw Turkey launch its long-awaited invasion of the region. It aims to cleanse the area of the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which it sees as a terrorist group, before resettling Arab refugees from elsewhere in Syria that have fled to Turkey since 2011.
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