2nd LD-Writethru: Syrian gov't voices determination to end U.S. presence in Syria

DAMASCUS, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian Foreign Ministry on Monday slammed the U.S. bid to form an armed militia in northern Syria as a flagrant violation to Syria's sovereignty, stressing resolve to end the U.S. presence in Syria, according to state news agency SANA.

The U.S. declaration constitutes a flagrant aggression on the unity and sovereignty of Syria and a violation of the international law, the ministry said.

A day earlier, reports cited the U.S.-led anti-terror coalition as saying that the United States is working to form an armed group of 30,000 fighters, which will be under the command of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurds, Arabs, and Assyrians supported by the United States in northern Syria.

"The U.S. action comes in the framework of its destructive policy in the region to fragment the countries and spur tensions to hinder any solution to the crisis," the ministry charged.

Meanwhile, the ministry warned that it will regard any Syrian citizen taking part in this U.S.-backed militia as a "traitor" and will be dealt with accordingly.

The ministry called the new U.S. move as a "renewed conspiracy" that will be brought down by the Syrian army to end any form of presence of the U.S. and its tools in Syria.

The U.S. has been carrying out military operations in Syria since 2014, claiming to be fighting against the Islamic State (IS) group.

The SDF captured Raqqa, the de facto capital of IS, late last year, and the Syrian army captured the eastern city of Deir al-Zour, another IS bastion almost in the same timeframe.

However, the Syrian government said the Raqqa city was still occupied by the United States and its fighters on the ground, refusing to acknowledge its liberation from IS.

Also, Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said in a recent interview that the Kurdish-led groups were the new IS, in another escalation between both parties.

The U.S. move to create a new army in northern Syria has also been criticized by Turkey and Russia.

Turkish Foreign Ministry on Sunday said the U.S. move to establish a border control force in northern Syria is a "unilateral decision. "

The ministry condemned this "wrongful approach" and said Turkey was determined and capable to eliminate all sorts of threats.

For his side, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday that the United States is not intending on preserving the Syrian sovereignty. Enditem