US Sending 200 More Troops to Syria as Regime Forces Tighten Grip on Aleppo

US Sending 200 More Troops to Syria as Regime Forces Tighten Grip on Aleppo
Last Updated: December 10, 2016 11:35 AM

• VOA News
  

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The U.S. defense secretary says the U.S. is sending an additional 200 troops to Syria.
Ash Carter said Saturday the military personnel will be used to help drive Islamic State militants out of Raqqa, the self-proclaimed capital of the terrorist group.
Carter said the 200 troops will include special forces trainers, advisers and explosive ordnance disposal teams.
“These uniquely skilled operators will join the 300 U.S. special operations forces already in Syria, to continue organizing, training, equipping, and otherwise enabling capable, motivated, local forces to take the fight to ISIL,'' Carter said.
Carter was speaking in Bahrain at the Manama Dialogue conference on Middle East security where he said Russia - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's top foreign military backer - had "only inflamed the civil war and prolonged suffering of the Syrian people."
Carter's comments and the build-up of troops in Raqqa comes as the U.S. and its allies attempt to achieve a permanent peace agreement with Russia and the Syrian government to stop the fighting in Aleppo. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with other top diplomats Saturday in Paris in an attempt to revive the stalled talks with Russia.
Foreign ministers of Germany, Britain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and a representative from the European Union attended the meeting at the French foreign ministry to try and devise a plan for a post-battle Aleppo.
The two sides agreed that aid would be allowed into Aleppo for civilians who need food and medical care and that opposition fighters would not be tortured or killed, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said.
That agreement, though, would only take hold if it were signed on to by the Syrian government and its Russian backers.
Following the meeting, Ayrault said the Syrian opposition is willing to resume negotiations with the Syrian regime "without pre-conditions."
“We need to tie down the conditions for a genuine political transition, and negotiations must resume on a clear basis within the framework of the U.N. resolution,” he said.
Later Saturday, U.S. and Russian diplomats are set to meet in Geneva for closed-door talks to work out the details of the plan.
Staffan de Mistura, the U.N. envoy in Syria, said in an interview with Sky News Arabia Saturday that the battle in Aleppo is in its "last steps," and the world is watching as the evacuation of civilians becomes the top priority.
"We are watching with concern the last steps of what will be called in history the 'Battle for Aleppo," he said.
Russia said Saturday that at least 50,000 civilians had fled eastern Aleppo over just the past two days and that Syrian troops had suspended their offensive in an effort to facilitate the evacuation efforts underway.
"Ninety-three percent of the city of Aleppo is currently controlled by the Syrian government," Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.
"The civilians who left are settling in special humanitarian centers and are being provided with hot food. If necessary, they are provided with medical help."
http://www.voanews.com/a/us-troops-to-syria-to-capture-raqqa/3630850.html

Seems like I read this already but hey, why not again. When Trump takes over there will be more and more and more till it's over. He was against it but since we got involved you got to finish it instead of pulling out and apologizing.