US Envoy for Anti-Daesh Coalition Resigns Over Syria Pullout

Previously, the decision by US President Donald Trump allegedly made Defence Secretary James Mattis announce his resignation.

Brett McGurk, the US ambassador to the coalition fighting the Daesh terror group, has resigned in protest to US troops being withdrawn from Syria, a US State Department official said on Saturday.

Earlier this month, McGurk stated it would be "reckless" to believe that Daesh was defeated, and therefore, US forces must stay in the country in order to oppose terrorists.

READ MORE: Erdogan Phone Call on Syria Triggered Mattis's Resignation — Reports

Commenting on the situation in the region, Trump stated that local countries, including Turkey, would be able to deal with remaining jihadists.

"On Syria, we were originally going to be there for three months, and that was seven years ago — we never left. When I became President, ISIS [Daesh] was going wild. Now ISIS is largely defeated and other local countries, including Turkey, should be able to easily take care of whatever remains. We’re coming home!" Trump said on Twitter.

The official was appointed to the post by President Barack Obama in 2015 and later retained by Trump. According to AP, he claimed in the resignation letter that the withdrawal of US forces will create the conditions that gave rise to Daesh in the past.

Earlier this week Trump announced plans to pull 2,000 US troops out of northern Syria, where they have been backing the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The president has also reportedly ordered the withdrawal of about half of the 14,000 US troops in Afghanistan.

* Daesh (ISIL/ISIS/IS/Islamic State) is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia