By SouthFront Press

A reconnaissance force from the United States military accompanied by hundreds of fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian Free Army (SFA) had entered al-Dumayr Air Base close to the Syrian capital, Damascus, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on March 31.

The air base, one of the largest and most fortified in Syria, is located some 40 kilometers to the northeast of Damascus and just under 20 kilometers to the east of the strategic M5 highway leading to the capital.

The Kurdish-led SDF, which controls large parts of northern and eastern Syria, is the U.S. main ally in the country, while the SFA is a much smaller proxy group that until the fall of the Assad regime its activists were limited to the southeastern area of al-Tanf.

In its report, the SOHR said that the U.S. was planning to take over al-Dumayr and turn it into a base for its forces. The new Syrian military and the SDF would later launch joint operations against ISIS cells in the Syrian desert from the air base, the London-based monitoring group added.

Syria’s interim government announced on March 10 that it had reached a breakthrough agreement with the SDF to integrate the group into state institutions, including the new military. At the time, the U.S. welcomed the agreement, which was reportedly brokered with its help.

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