Refugees Afraid to Return to Palmyra Due to Proximity of US Troops – Governor

RASTAN (Syria) (Sputnik) – Syrian refugees are afraid of returning to the city of Palmyra in Syria’s Homs province as long as there are US forces nearby in at-Tanf as well as some Daesh* militants in the neighboring desert, the regional governor said Wednesday.

"Few people have returned — only 200 families… People are worried, they are afraid to return to Palmyra, as well as to Sukhnah, because they are close to the US base At Tanf. There are US troops there, as well as several IS units, which are wandering in the desert," Talal Barazi said.

He added that Syrians would feel secure only once Daesh eliminated, and the US servicemen leave At Tanf.

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Syria has been torn by civil war since 2011, with the government fighting numerous opposition groups and terrorist organizations. The Syrian forces, with the support of Russia, regained control of Syrian Palmyra in March 2017.

*Daesh [ISIL, Islamic State, IS] — a terrorist group banned in Russia