Kurdish-led SDF forces engaged in skirmishes with Damascus government troops in the nation’s largest city
Deadly clashes have broken out in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo between Damascus government forces and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), with both sides placing blame for the incident on one another.
State-run SANA news agency, citing the city’s health authorities, reported that at least two civilians were killed and several others injured during the fighting. The Syrian Interior Ministry attributed responsibility for the incident to the SDF, claiming the group’s fighters “carried out an act of treachery” against security forces under Damascus control.
According to the Interior Ministry, SDF units allegedly withdrew from multiple checkpoints around the Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhoods on Monday before attacking the checkpoints and nearby residential areas.
The SDF vehemently denied these claims, asserting that the militia has long “handed over their positions to the Internal Security Forces in line with the April 1 agreement.” The group placed fault for the incident on “fractured factions associated with the Damascus government,” accusing them of “blockading” the neighborhoods for at least four months.
The Syrian government, which came to power after President Bashar al-Assad was ousted late last year, reached an agreement in April with the local council of Aleppo’s Kurdish neighborhoods. The areas were brought under Damascus authority while retaining a measure of self-governance.
A separate accord specified that Kurdish-led civil and military structures would be integrated into the central government by the end of 2025. However, its implementation has stalled, and the SDF continues to control approximately a quarter of Syrian territory.
Over recent months, multiple confrontations between Damascus-aligned forces and SDF militias have occurred across Syria. The latest incident follows a visit to Damascus by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan earlier the same day, during which he accused the SDF of failing to uphold the agreement and urged it to “cease being an impediment to Syria attaining stability, unity, and prosperity.”
Over the past several years, Türkiye has repeatedly conducted cross-border military operations against Kurdish-led militias in Syria, viewing the SDF as an extension of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Ankara designates as a terrorist group. Meanwhile, the SDF has maintained close links with the US, serving as Washington’s closest ally in the war-ravaged country.