Violent clashes over the past two days between the Syrian Democratic Forces, which is identified mainly with Syria’s Kurdish minority, and Syrian government troops in two neighborhoods of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo have killed at least eight people and wounded dozens, amid stalled efforts to implement an agreement on integrating the SDF into state institutions.
The fighting erupted in the Achrafieh and Sheikh Maqsood neighborhoods, following continued failure to carry out an agreement signed on March 10 last year between the Syrian government, led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa, and the Syrian Democratic Forces, which addressed the integration of the SDF into state bodies.
Clashes in Aleppo, yesterday
A Syrian Health Ministry official told the SyriaTV channel late Monday that eight people had been killed and 52 wounded since Sunday. The Syrian Democratic Forces reported seven killed and 54 wounded. Media outlets aligned with the Syrian government broadcast videos and photographs showing residents being evacuated from the two neighborhoods in anticipation of further escalation. Those reports sharply contradicted statements issued by the SDF.
Earlier Tuesday, the operations directorate of the Syrian army said that all SDF positions in Achrafieh and Sheikh Maqsood had become “legitimate military targets,” citing what it described as a significant escalation by the SDF and harm to civilians. The army urged civilians in the two neighborhoods to stay away from SDF positions and announced the opening of two humanitarian corridors, calling on residents to leave the areas by 3 p.m. The Syrian Democratic Forces accused government forces of using young people as “human shields,” attacking the two neighborhoods and imposing a siege.
Syria’s Civil Aviation Authority said flights to and from Aleppo International Airport were suspended until 11 p.m. Tuesday.
In a statement issued Monday night, the Syrian government said the measures taken in Achrafieh and Sheikh Maqsood were aimed at maintaining security and preventing armed activity inside residential areas, while stressing a commitment to protecting civilians, ensuring their safety and safeguarding property. The government renewed its demand for the withdrawal of armed groups from the two neighborhoods and rejected what it called inflammatory and intimidating rhetoric that could undermine the country’s stability.
The statement also criticized an announcement issued by the SDF on Monday claiming it had no armed presence in Aleppo and that the city had been under siege by government forces for some time. The government said SDF reports on the situation in Aleppo contained inaccuracies and descriptions that did not reflect reality.
In a separate statement, the Syrian Democratic Forces said reports of a ceasefire in Aleppo were false. It said all attempts by its forces to reach a ceasefire had failed because of what it described as the insistence of factions within the government in Damascus on military escalation, adding that shelling and drone strikes were continuing.
Residents of Achrafieh and Sheikh Maqsood, the SDF said, reaffirmed their commitment to remaining in their homes and their rejection of forced displacement, warning that attempts to impose a new military reality through media manipulation and escalation on the ground would not go unanswered.