A U.S. defense official has told Newsweek that there has been no shift in the Pentagon’s mission in Syria after America’s Kurdish-led partner in the fight against the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) signed an agreement to join the country’s Islamist government amid a wave of sectarian violence. “The U.S. mission remains unchanged as we continue to work towards the enduring defeat of ISIS,” the U.S. defense official, speaking on background, told Newsweek, adding that the Pentagon was “aware” of the reporting surrounding the new deal.

The agreement, announced Monday by Syrian Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) leader Mazloum Abdi, marked another drastic turn in Syria’s 14-year civil war three months after the fall of longtime President Bashar al-Assad. Assad, whose ruling Baathist party had been in power for more than 50 years, fled the country as a shock insurgent offensive headed by Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) faction seized major cities, eventually taking Damascus in December

The sudden change of power raised immediate concerns of a major confrontation between elements of the former opposition, which also include the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army, and the U.S.-backed SDF, which Ankara views as linked to the separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Turkey and the PKK signed a ceasefire deal last week.

Sharaa, who once aligned at times with ISIS and Al-Qaeda before cutting jihadi ties in 2016, has also called for national unity across political, religious and ethnic lines. His appeals, however, have been undercut by the eruption of violence in recent days between Assad loyalists and security forces in the coastal homelands of the Alawite sect, of which the Assad family was a member, in which reports have emerged of more than 1,500 people killed, most of them civilians. Clashes have also been reported in recent weeks between Druze militias and security forces south of Damascus

While President Donald Trump’s administration issued a sharp warning to Damascus over the recent violence and has expressed skepticism toward Sharaa’s government, Riad Darar, adviser to the presidency of the SDF’s political wing, the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), said that it was “natural” for Washington to play a role in orchestrating the agreement between the two sides. “America, which does not accept

“America, which does not accept any attack on human rights and does not remain silent about it, was putting great pressure on the government in Damascus after the blatant attacks and crimes that took place on the Syrian coast, and therefore it was better for everyone to reach an agreement,” Darar told Newsweek

Because confronting the remnants of the regime on the one hand and the factions that committed crimes on the Syrian coast is in the interests of the Syrian Democratic Forces as well as the administration in Damascus.”

Therefore, we can say that the American role was a positive role and in the interest of Syria and the Syrians,” he added. Newsweek has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the SDF, the Syrian Interim Government and the U.S. State Department for comment. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also welcomed the agreement between the SDF and the Syrian interim government in a statement issued late Tuesday. “The United States reaffirms its support for a political transition that demonstrates credible, non-sectarian governance as the best path to avoid further conflict,” Rubio said. “We will continue to watch the decisions made by the interim authorities, noting with concern the recent deadly violence against minorities.”