The Kurdish forces the United States fought the Islamic State alongside are now turning to the Syrian government for help after Defense Secretary Mark Esper announced an evacuation of most U.S. troops in the country.
The Syrian Democratic Forces, a majority Kurdish group based in northeast Syria, has reportedly struck a deal with Syrian strongman Bashar Assad. As part of the deal, forces loyal to Assad will fill the vacuum left by the U.S. and return to Kurdish parts of the country for the first time in seven years.
The agreement was forged in order to protect the Kurds from Turkey, which has launched a military incursion against them after President Trump cleared the way for Turkey to do so by relocating troops.
Assad is supported by both Iran and Russia, and his government forces have been accused of committing numerous atrocities, including chemical weapons attacks against civilians.
The Pentagon chief announced Sunday that the U.S. was evacuating about 1,000 troops from northern Syria
“In the last 24 hours, we learned that [the Turks] likely intend to expand their attack further south than originally planned, and to the west,” Esper said Sunday on CBS’s Face The Nation. “We also have learned in the last 24 hours that the … SDF are looking to cut a deal, if you will, with the Syrians and the Russians to counterattack against the Turks in the north.
“And so we find ourselves, as we have American forces likely caught between two opposing advancing armies, and it’s a very untenable situation,” he added.
Trump’s initial decision to relocate troops and allow the Turkish military offensive to begin spurred bipartisan backlash, with politicians on both sides of the aisle criticizing the notion of abandoning allies.
Some Trump allies, such as Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, have been lobbying the president to apply pressure on Turkey. Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland is cosponsoring bipartisan legislation with Graham to sanction the country for its violence against the Kurds.
Another growing concern in the region is the escape of ISIS prisoners resulting from the Turkish invasion. On Sunday, hundreds of people associated with ISIS reportedly escaped a Syrian camp where they were being detained. The escapees attacked guards and managed to flee.
