Putin orders withdrawal of Russian troops from Syria

Russian President Vladimir Putin has unexpectedly ordered the withdrawal of troops from the wartorn country of Syria, state media reported on Monday.

Putin traveled to an airbase in western Syria on Monday morning to meet with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, and said that the Russian and Syrian armies had finished their mission of combating terrorism in the country.

"I order the defense minister and chief of the general staff to start the withdrawal of Russian troops to the site of their permanent deployment," Putin told military personnel during his visit.

The Russian leader did warn that the two countries would respond forcefully if there was a resurgence of the opposition.

"The task of fighting armed bandits here in Syria, a task that it was essential to solve with the help of extensive use of armed force, has for the most part been solved and solved spectacularly. I congratulate you."

He said if "the terrorists raise their heads again," Russia would "carry out strikes like they have never seen."

It is not the first time that the Russian government has said it would begin to pull troops out of Syria, with Putin announcing a similar decision in 2016 before continuing to provide troops and support for al-Assad’s regime.

The civil war in Syria began in 2011 and has since seen hundreds of thousands of people killed in a bloody conflict, many of those children, with the UN having said Assad has previously used chemical weapons.