Syria protests US general's trip to Kurdish-controlled northeast

(ahram) ⸻ Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley visited US troops stationed in areas of war-torn Syria under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). About 900 US troops are deployed in several bases and posts across northeastern Syria as part of the fight against Islamic State group remnants. President Bashar al-Assad's government views the deployment of US forces in SDF-held territory as "occupation" and accuses US-aligned Kurdish forces of "separatist tendencies".Kurdish officials deny any separatist aspirations and say they seek to preserve their self-rule, which Damascus does not recognise. Milley's spokesman, Dave Butler, told AFP the US general "visited northeast Syria Saturday... to meet with commanders and troops". During the visit, Milley "received updates on the counter-ISIS mission", inspected force protection measures and asserted repatriation efforts for the Al-Hol refugee camp. US forces have killed or arrested IS figures in numerous operations, including the group's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2019.