US Preparing Airbase in Northeast Syria

TheUS technicians are reportedly supervising work on an airfield in the Hasakeh town of Rimelan in the northeast Syria

The US is reportedly esbalishing an airbase in northeastern Syria. The forces deployed there should assist to the so-called “Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)”, de facto Syrian Kurds, to make gains in Syria.

On Friday, Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar reported that US experts were “close to finishing the preparation of an “agricultural airport” in the Hasakeh region. The area is controlled by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).

“American technicians have worked for more than one and a half months to expand and prepare the airport with a runway specialized for warplanes. Its length reaches 2500 meters and its width 250 meters,” the daily wrote.

The airbase is located southeast of the town of Rimelan – one of the YPG’s main strongholds and largest arms and ammunition depots.

“This airport will help enable Washington to add an additional safe place to land its forces, commando units for example, and bring in military support to its allies who are working to finalize control over southern Hasakeh countryside.”

Earlier there were reports that the US and YPG were working to construct a 10 hectare military airbase south of the town of Rimelan in the village of Rimelan al-Basha.

That US unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) had already flown from the facility to test it. The report also said that two helicopter landed eight US military specialists at the airport on November 24.

At the end of October, the U.S. was sending about 50 special operators to Northern Syria. Then, in December, President Obama ordered the deployment of additional special operations forces to both Iraq and Syria.