The US military has begun moving non-essential gear out of Syria but is not withdrawing troops for now, defense officials said amid uncertainty over America’s planned exit from the war-battered nation. Adding to the confusion, a military spokesman said the US had already begun “the process of our deliberate withdrawal” from Syria. The mission has not changed.”US defense officials said the withdrawal was only of certain types of gear, and not troops. “We are not withdrawing troops at this stage,” one US defense official said. A second US defense official told AFP that the military had conducted a number of preparations for a deliberate withdrawal.

Source: Egypt Independent January 12, 2019 08:26 UTC