WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump is expected to order the Pentagon and State Department to produce a plan in coming days for setting up “safe zones” for refugees in Syria and neighbouring countries, according to a document seen by Reuters, a move that could risk escalation of US military involvement in Syria’s civil war.
The draft executive order awaiting Trump’s signature signalled the new administration was preparing a step that Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama long resisted, fearing the potential for being pulled deeper into the conflict and the threat of clashes between US and Russian warplanes over Syria.
“The Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Secretary of Defence, is directed within 90 days of the date of this order to produce a plan to provide safe areas in Syria and in the surrounding region in which Syrian nationals displaced from their homeland can await firm settlement, such as repatriation or potential third-country resettlement,” draft order said.
Creation of safe zones, if Trump decides to do so, could ratchet up US military involvement in Syria and mark a major departure from Obama’s approach. If Trump decided to enforce “no fly” restrictions over such areas, it would require increased US or allied air power. It could also demand some type of ground forces to provide security.
Still, the document gave no details on what would constitute a safe zone, exactly where they might be set up and who would defend them. Jordan, Turkey and other neighbouring countries already host millions of Syrian refugees. US military officials had long warned that creation of no-fly zones inside Syria would require a large number of additional resources beyond the fight against IS and it would be difficult to ensure that insurgents did not infiltrate those areas.
Republican lawmakers have advocated the creation of such zones, especially to protect against forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al Assad.
During the presidential campaign, Trump called for no-fly zones to harbour refugees as an alternative to allowing them into the United States. Trump accused the Obama administration of failing to properly screen Syrian refugees entering the United States to guarantee they had no militant ties.
Trump’s call for a plan for safe zones is part of a larger document that includes a temporary ban on most refugees to the US and a suspension of visas for citizens of Syria and six other Middle Eastern and African countries, according to congressional aides and immigration experts briefed on the matter. — Reuters
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