Kurdish-led SDF forces skirmished against the troops of the Damascus government in the country’s largest city
Deadly clashes have erupted in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo between the troops of the Damascus government and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), with the two sides trading blame for the incident.
At least two civilians were killed amid the fighting, and several others were wounded, state-run SANA news agency reported, citing the city’s health authorities. The Syrian Interior Ministry pinned the blame for the incident on the SDF, claiming the fighters with the group “committed an act of treachery” against the Damascus-controlled security forces.
The SDF units on Monday allegedly withdrew from several checkpoints around the Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhoods. The fighters attacked the checkpoints and surrounding residential areas, according to the Interior Ministry.
The SDF strongly rejected the allegations, claiming the militia have long “handed over their positions to the Internal Security Forces in accordance with the April 1 agreement.” The group blamed the incident on the “fragmented factions affiliated with the Damascus government,” accusing them of “besieging” the neighborhoods for at least four months.
The Syrian government, which emerged after President Bashar al-Assad was toppled late last year, reached a deal with the local council of Aleppo’s Kurdish neighborhoods back in April. The areas were placed under Damascus authority while retaining a degree of autonomy.
A separate agreement stipulated that Kurdish-led civil and military structures would be integrated into the central government by the end of 2025. Its implementation, however, has stalled, and the SDF remains in control of roughly a fourth of the Syrian territory.
Over the past few months, multiple clashes between the Damascus-affiliated forces and the SDF militias occurred across Syria. The latest incident comes hours after Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan visited Damascus, accusing the SDF of failing to commit to the agreement and urging it to “cease to be an obstacle to Syria achieving stability, unity and prosperity.”
Over the past few years, Türkiye has repeatedly launched cross-border military operations against the Kurdish-led militias in Syria, treating the SDF as an offshoot of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), that Ankara regards as a terrorist group. At the same time, the SDF maintained close ties with the US, acting as Washington’s closest ally in the war-torn country.