WEST OF MANBIJ, Syria — The agreement reached between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian government Oct. 13 has shuffled the cards and changed the balance of power at a time when the Turkish army and the Ankara-backed Syrian National Army continue their assault on the SDF as part of the Turkish military's Operation Peace Spring, which was launched Oct. 9 in northern Syria.

The SDF-affiliated self-administration announced Oct. 13 that an agreement with the Syrian regime was concluded whereby the regime’s forces would be deployed along the Syrian-Turkish border to support the SDF in the face of the Turkish offensive and recuperate the areas it had lost.

The terms of the agreement were not made public, nor was what the Assad regime would get in return for its military support for the Kurdish fighters.

SDF commander Mazlum Kobane, however, said Oct. 13, “We are very aware that we would have to make painful concessions in our agreement with Russia and the Assad regime. But if we have to choose between concessions to them and between the annihilation of our people, we will certainly choose to preserve the lives of our people.”