On our way to Qamishli, the largest Kurdish city in northern Syria, we see a US military convoy escorted by fighter jets heading east towards the Iraqi border. They are leaving the Kurdish region.
The first time I saw an American in Syria was in 2016. He was part of US special forces, sent to support the Kurds fighting the Islamic State (IS) group. Locals were excited to see them arriving.
But it was in stark contrast this time around. Now you could see the fear and anxiety in the faces of onlookers.
We were only a few kilometres from the Turkish border as one of the jets circled overhead, leaving a trail of white smoke as it passed in and out of Turkish airspace.
One of our guides sighed. “Trump bi namoose,” he said to me in Kurdish. “Trump has no honour.”
The Kurds have every reason to be worried. On one side they face neighbouring Turkey, and on the other side, Syrian government forces.
Now the US is leaving, Kurds here are convinced they have no friends other than the mountains they inhabit in this region.
‘Trump sold us'
From the moment we arrived in Qamishli, ordinary Kurds from baker to waiter asked “why did Trump sell us out?” This is a traditional society that prides itself on a code of honour and do not…
