The winners and losers in Trump’s planned troop withdrawal from Syria

Here are some of the parties to the conflict that have the most to gain or lose from a US withdrawal.

Written by Megan Specia

President Donald Trump’s decision this week to withdraw all US troops from Syria within 30 days risks leaving United States’ allies in the long-running war weakened while strengthening rivals backed by Iran and Russia.

US troops entered Syria in 2015 as part of a coalition fighting the Islamic State, which had seized large swaths of territory in Syria and Iraq. In the three years since, the extremist group’s self-declared caliphate has crumbled. But the ongoing lack of stability in both Syria and Iraq could provide fertile ground for the jihadis to retrench.

The American pullout could also weaken the country’s influence over any negotiations on a settlement to end the conflict.