Trump ordering Pentagon to establish ‘safe zones’ in Syria

US President Donald Trump is ordering the Pentagon to establish a series of “safe zones” in Syria, a move that could risk confrontation with the Syrian government as well as Russian forces in the Arab country.   

"I'll absolutely do safe zones in Syria for the people," Trump told ABC News in an interview on Wednesday, without further elaborating on his plan.

He said Europe had made a big mistake by admitting millions of refugees from Syria and other Middle Eastern countries, and insisted: "I don't want that to happen here [in the United States]."

The safe-zone mandate was included in the text of an executive order signed on Wednesday by the new Republican president that puts harsh restrictions on people travelling from Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen and other countries to the United States.

Trump is expected to ask the Pentagon and the State Department in coming days to devise a plan for establishing the “safe zones,” according to a document seen by Reuters.

The development shows that the Trump administration is preparing a step that former President Barack Obama resisted during his time in office, fearing the potential for confrontation between US and Russian warplanes over Syria.

"The Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Secretary of Defense, is directed within 90 days of the date of this order to produce a plan to provide safe areas in Syria and in the surrounding region in which Syrian nationals displaced from their homeland can await firm settlement, such as repatriation or potential third-country resettlement," reads the draft executive order awaiting Trump's signature.