Kurdish forces backed by the US reach an agreement with Assad in Syria, in a major change in 8 years of war

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(CNN) - Abandoned by the United States and facing a deepening Turkish military offensive, Kurdish forces near the northern border of Syria have reached an agreement with the Syrian government, marking a major change in the eight-year war in that country.

This Monday it was reported that Syrian troops were advancing towards the northern border of the country to confront the Turkish forces, returning for the first time in years to a region where the Kurds had established relative autonomy, and further consolidating the control of the president of Syria Bashar al-Assad over the country.

The agreement between Damascus and the Kurds comes when the president of the United States, Donald Trump, ordered the withdrawal of all remaining US forces from northern Syria. The move signals a departure from the long-standing US anti-terrorism strategy in Syria, which depended on a close partnership with Kurdish-led forces to fight ISIS.

• Exclusive: Syrian Kurdish military leader tells the US that "they are leaving us to be killed"
• The defense secretary says Trump ordered the almost total withdrawal of his soldiers from northern Syria

By suspending that approach, the Trump administration has effectively ceded influence in northern Syria to Assad and his allies and raised the specter of a resurfaced ISIS. In recent days, Kurdish authorities have reported the escape of hundreds of members of the ISIS family from a camp in northern Syria, and warned that ISIS militants detained in prisons could be the next to leave if the fight With the Turkish forces he continues to climb.

The situation began to deteriorate last week when the Trump administration ordered US troops to depart from the border in northern Syria, effectively paving the way for Turkey to launch its offensive against the Kurds, whom they consider enemies.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) operating in the area are led by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which Turkey considers a terrorist organization affiliated with the Workers Party of Separatist Kurdistan (PKK).

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says that the raid in Syria is aimed at clearing a "safe zone" along the border to resettle some two million Syrian refugees currently staying in Turkey.

But there is a growing concern for the safety of hundreds of thousands of civilians who are on the road to Turkey, as Kurd-controlled cities suffer heavy fires, key border cities are seized and major roads are cut.

Amid the chaos over the weekend, a spooky video began circulating on social media that seemed to show the execution-style murder of a prominent Kurdish politician, as well as his driver, members of the Kurdish security forces and several civilians by militants backed by Turkey.

The Free Syrian Army or FSA (also called the Syrian National Army) has denied those claims. CNN could not independently verify the video.

Assad's soldiers help Kurdish forces

On Sunday, the Autonomous Administration of the north and east of Syria, led by the Kurds, said it reached an agreement with the Syrian government to deploy troops across the Syrian-Turkish border.

Syrian army units were moving north on Sunday night to "oppose Turkish aggression" in Syrian territory, according to the Syrian state news agency SANA.

The new agreement between the Kurds and Damascus represents a new chapter in the eight-year Syrian war, and one that is throwing changing alliances in an area already saturated with internal struggles.

The Autonomous Administration of the North and East of Syria, led by the Kurds, said Sunday that the Syrian government had a duty to protect its borders and sovereignty.

"This agreement offers an opportunity to free the rest of the Syrian territories and cities occupied by the Turkish army such as Afrin and other Syrian cities and towns," the statement said.

The agreement means that the Kurdish forces, which were considered vital allies of the United States in the fight against ISIS, would fight alongside the allies of President Bashar al-Assad's regime, which the United States opposes.

The Syrian government has not commented on such an agreement.

Russia will probably welcome the total withdrawal of US troops. As allies of the Assad regime, Moscow could gain greater influence in the region.

ISIS families escape the camp

But the offensive threatens the achievements made against ISIS.

Kurdish authorities claim that Turkey's offensive has led to the flight of "785 people affiliated with foreign ISIS fighters" from the Ain Issa camp. The camp mainly houses internally displaced persons and some members of the families of ISIS members.

According to a statement published on the Facebook page of the Autonomous Administration of the North and East of Syria, "ISIS elements attacked the field guards, opened the doors and escaped." CNN cannot verify claims.

Erdogan described the reports of an escape as "misinformation" to "provoke the United States and Europe," Turkish news agency Anadolu reported.

Trump has protested against European countries for not recovering their citizens who left to join the extremist group. “The United States has the worst of ISIS prisoners. Turkey and the Kurds should not let them escape. Europe should have recovered them after numerous requests. They should do it now, ”Trump tweeted on Sunday.

Trump has also ruled out the general threat of ISIS fugitives. Last week he said: "Well, they are going to escape to Europe."

A European intelligence official questioned the Syrian regime and Russia's willingness and willingness to detain foreign ISIS fighters.

“There is a great possibility that combatants or their families can try to return to Europe. They could also try to recover the land of the caliphate, disappear again into ungoverned territory to regroup or a combination of all that. Dealing with the last two would be a great challenge without a committed ground force, since you cannot use air power, ”said the official.

The official added that it was unlikely that the SDF would trust the West again.

An American official, expressing anger at recent events, told CNN that, in his opinion, US policy had "failed" and that the nation and its allies "now face new threats at home and abroad" .

"ISIS has a second life and our geopolitical allies have the advantage," said the European official, speaking frankly in a personal capacity about the withdrawal of US troops from Syria. "Russia and the (Syrian) regime will recover the entire territory and Iran has freedom of movement throughout the region."

"Blood in the hands of Trump"

More than 150,000 people have been displaced from the border areas around Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

As the roads flood with families trying to escape the offensive, they have criticized Trump for removing troops from the area, which helps provide a de facto advance for the Turkish attack.

Retired four-star US Navy General John Allen said Sunday: "There is blood on Trump's hands for abandoning our Kurdish allies."

The former commander of US forces in Afghanistan and a former special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIS under the administration of Barack Obama told CNN that the ongoing crisis in Syria was "completely predictable" and that "the United States enlightened it "

"There was no possibility that Erdogan could keep his promise, and the militias supported by Turkey are carrying out a total ethnic cleansing," he said. "This is what happens when Trump follows his instincts and because of his alignment with the autocrats."

The Trump administration has insisted that Turkey would have proceeded with its offensive, regardless of whether American troops had stayed and that the United States had not abandoned Syrian Kurds.

- CNN's Nick Paton Walsh, Barbara Starr, Ryan Browne, Kareem Khadder, Jennifer Deaton, Sharif Paget and Jomana Karadsheh contributed.

War in Syria