Syria conflict: Obama to send 250 more non-combat troops

 
US President Barack Obama is to send 250 additional military personnel to Syria to support local militias in the fight against so-called Islamic State (IS), a security official says.

The new deployment will bring to 300 the number of US forces in non-combat roles in Syria.

In a BBC interview, Mr Obama ruled out sending ground troops there.

He said military efforts alone cannot solve Syria's "heart-breaking situation of enormous complexity".

Most of the additional personnel will be special operation forces, the Associated Press news agency reports. The group will also include medical and logistical troops, it adds.


"We've seen across parts of northern and eastern Syria progress as ISIL has been pushed out of some strongholds," US Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes said, using an acronym for IS.

"We want to accelerate that progress and we believe the commitment of additional US special forces can play a critical role."

The goal, officials earlier said, is to encourage more Sunni Arabs to join Kurdish fighters in north-east Syria.

A formal announcement is expected from President Obama during his visit to Hannover on Monday, where he will discuss Syria and other foreign policy issues with leaders of the UK, Germany, France and Italy.

On Sunday, Mr Obama said he was "deeply concerned" about a surge in violence in Syria, with the opposition accusing the government of violating a truce brokered by the US and Russia. Image caption Additional US forces in Syria will help fight against IS

Mr Obama has resisted calls to send US troops into Syria, where a five-year-old conflict has killed more than 250,000 people and displaced some 11 million others.

Of those, four million have fled abroad, including growing numbers who are making the dangerous journey to Europe.

The crisis has put pressure on leaders there, who are struggling to halt a massive influx of migrants and refugees. Germany received close to 477,000 asylum applications last year as almost 1.1m migrants arrived. A further 181,405 asylum applications have been made so far this year.

Speaking alongside Mr Obama on Sunday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged warring parties to set up safe zones in Syria where refugees would be protected within the country.

She expressed hope that such a plan might eventually be agreed at peace talks taking place in Geneva.

Mr Obama, however, said it would be "very difficult" for those zones to work without a large military commitment. Image caption Mrs Merkel has proposed so-called safe zones in Syria, but Mr Obama says their creation is "very difficult"

IS has lost parts of the territory it once controlled in Syria. Most recently, they were pushed back by Russian-backed Syrian forces from the strategic city of Palmyra.

The group has also had significant setbacks in Iraq, including the loss of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province.

The US has led a coalition against the militant group in both Syria and Iraq.
Media captionBarack Obama said "applying international pressure" would help broker a transition

Mr Obama told the BBC that it would be a "mistake" to send ground troops to Syria.

"In order for us to solve the long-term problems in Syria, a military solution alone - and certainly us deploying ground troops - is not going to bring that about."