18 January 2019 - 13:12

France to keep military presence in Syria and Iraq in 2019

<p style="text-align: left;">French President Emmanuel Macron explained that the recent terror attack that claimed the lives of US soldiers in the Syrian city of Manbij showed that the battle against the Islamic State (IS) is not over.

Macron also stressed that France will continue being militarily engaged in the Middle East in the international coalition throughout 2019.

"The announced withdrawal of our American ally should not deflect us from our strategic objective to eradicate Daesh", Macron said on Thursday addressing the armed forces in the French city of Toulouse, using the Arabic acronym for the IS

The French leader's comments come after, the day before, a suicide bombing claimed by the IS militants killed at least 16 people, including two US service members and two American civilians, in northern Syria.

Last month, US President Donald Trump announced that he was ordering a full troop pullout from Syria, saying the war against the IS was won.

This announced withdrawal was condemned by a number of US officials and resulted in two resignations: US Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis and Brett McGurk, special presidential envoy for the US coalition in Syria.

Reporter’s code: 50101

News Code 35667