U.S.’ ex-allies in Syria team up with Damascus government

The deal is a major turning point in the war as the U.S. abruptly abandons years of policy built on collaboration with a Kurdish-led militia to fight the Islamic State and on limiting the influence of Syrian government backers Iran and Russia.

DOHUK, IRAQ

Kurdish forces long allied with the United States in Syria announced a new deal on Sunday with the government in Damascus, a sworn enemy of Washington that is backed by Russia, as Turkish troops moved deeper into their territory and President Trump ordered the withdrawal of the American military from northern Syria.

The sudden shift marked a major turning point in Syria’s long war.

For five years, United States policy relied on collaborating with the Kurdish-led forces both to fight the Islamic State and to limit the influence of Iran and Russia, which support the Syrian government, with a goal of maintaining some leverage over any future settlement of the conflict.

On Sunday, after Trump abruptly abandoned that approach, American leverage appeared

DELIL SOULEIMAN AFP via Getty Images Mourners attend a funeral for Kurdish political leader Hevrin Khalaf and others, including civilians and Kurdish fighters, in the northeastern Syrian Kurdish town of Derik, known as al-Malikiyah in Arabic, on Sunday.