Syrian gov't: U.S. military presence in Syria is act of aggression

BEIRUT - 18 January 2018: The Syrian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that a U.S military presence in Syria was illegitimate and represented an "aggression" against Syrian sovereignty, after Washington signalled that its forces would stay in parts of Syria indefinitely.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday signalled an open-ended military presence as part of a broader strategy to prevent Islamic State's resurgence, pave the way diplomatically for the eventual departure of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and curtail Iran's influence.