UAE Says Ready to Send Ground Troops to Syria
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The United Arab Emirates (UAE) said Sunday it was ready to send ground troops to Syria, allegedly as part of an international coalition to fight against Daesh (ISIL).
"Our position throughout has been that a real campaign against Daesh has to include a ground force," Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said at a news conference in Abu Dhabi, referring to ISIL by its Arabic acronym. "We are not talking about thousands of troops."
Gargash added that "US leadership on this" would be a prerequisite for the UAE, according to Reutres.
The announcement comes after Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, UAE's fellow members in the (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC), said they were ready to commit troops to Syria.
Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are also members of the US coalition that has been conducting airstrikes inside Syria since September 2014.
The decision to deploy ground forces to Syria follows advances by the Syrian army in recent weeks especially in the areas near the city of Aleppo.
