UPDATE 1-Hezbollah cut down its forces in Syria - Nasrallah
- Country:
- Lebanon
Iran-backed Hezbollah has reduced its forces in Syria as fighting died down though it still has fighters all over the country, its leader said on Friday.
The heavily armed Lebanese Shi'ite movement has played a vital role in the war next door, helping Syrian President Bashar al-Assad reclaim much of the country. "There are no regions in Syria that we have fully emptied out, but there is no need for the numbers to stay the same," Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in an interview with Hezbollah's al-Manar TV.
"We have reduced the forces based on the needs of the current situation." Assad's military has crushed rebels and Islamic State militants with the help of Russian air power and militias Tehran supports. Still, more than eight years of war have left Syria carved up into swathes of U.S., Russian, Turkish and Iranian influence that appear unlikely to be stitched back together any time soon.
In the northwest, Syria's last big insurgent stronghold, an army assault has faced a counterpunch that underlines Turkish resolve to keep the region out of Assad's hands. Other than Turkish forces deployed with the opposition in the northwest, U.S. troops are also still stationed alongside Kurdish forces in the northeast.
Also Read: UPDATE 1-US sanctions on Hezbollah are an "assault" on Lebanon-Berri
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
ALSO READ
Water levels rise in Russian rivers in flooding zone
Russian missile strike targets cities across Ukraine
Russian missile strike targets cities across Ukraine
Ukraine grid operator says substations, generating facilities were damaged in Russian attack
INSIGHT-The Ukrainian amputees returning to the front to resist Russian advance