Fighting between Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) raged overnight from Friday into Saturday in the predominantly Kurdish Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhood of Aleppo, as a ceasefire announced earlier by Damascus appeared to falter.
Renewed blasts rocked the city, as government troops sought to push Kurdish fighters from their remaining positions in the area after they refused to surrender under the ceasefire proposal.
The Operations Command of the Syrian army announced an action “to clear the neighbourhood of the presence” of the SDF, after which the neighbourhood will be “handed over to the security forces and state institutions”.
Since Tuesday, clashes between Syrian government troops and SDF-affiliated forces have shaken the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighbourhoods of Aleppo, where Kurdish-led forces have long been stationed.
The SDF also controls a semi-autonomous region in north-eastern Syria that covers about a quarter of the country’s territory. The group's integration into the central government has stalled despite an agreement signed in March.
The fighting in Aleppo has exacerbated tension between Damascus and the Kurdish-led authorities, raising concerns about a broader escalation with the SDF in the north-east.
Syria’s Ministry of Defence said its forces on Thursday had entered were patrolling Ashrafieh, adding that all militants in Sheikh Maqsoud were to leave by bus, carrying only light personal weapons, to other Kurdish-held areas.
The National's correspondent saw a dozen buses stationed near the entrances of the neighbourhoods to transport the departing militants.
The Ministry of Defence, when it announced the temporary ceasefire, demanded that fighters leave these areas by 9am local time. Later, Tom Barrack, US special envoy to Syria, announced efforts to extend the ceasefire.
Collapsing truce
But in the early afternoon, hours after the deadline expired, some SDF-affiliated fighters refused to withdraw and fired artillery at the security forces sent to escort the buses, as witnessed by The National's correspondent.
The Syrian army published a series of warning maps highlighting military targets in Sheikh Maqsoud and urging civilians to evacuate the area, which it said had been taken over by the SDF and its allies.
Ahead of the attack on what it said were SDF positions, the Syrian army opened a humanitarian corridor from 4pm to 6pm for residents of the Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhood.
During the two-hour evacuation window, Kurdish families were seen fleeing the area on foot in the rain, weighed down by heavy bags slung over their backs. Others crowded on to buses deployed by the Damascus governorate, hurriedly loading suitcases on to lorries.
SDF integration poses a major challenge for Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara, who has pledged to reunite the country after 14 years of civil war.
Both Damascus and the SDF have traded accusations of human rights violations during the Aleppo clashes.
The SDF said on X that it was continuing “resistance for the third consecutive day against the assault launched by Damascus government-affiliated factions … despite brutal and intensive shelling with tanks and artillery targeting civilian residential areas”.
Diplomatic push
In separate phone calls with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and French President Emmanuel Macron, Mr Barrack said that his priority is “securing the city of Aleppo's surroundings and ending illegal armed manifestations that hinder reconstruction”.
He also stressed the state's national and sovereign role in protecting all Syrians, including the Kurdish component, as an “integral part of the national fabric and a key partner” in building Syria’s future.
For its part, France welcomed the ceasefire reached in Aleppo and called for its respect by all parties, in order to preserve stability and protect civilians, the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“France is working in co-ordination with the United States with the various actors to encourage de-escalation,” the statement read.
Mr Al Shara also held a phone call with veteran Kurdish politician Masoud Barzani, during which he stressed that the Kurds are an “authentic and integral component of the Syrian people”, and affirmed the state’s full commitment to guaranteeing their national, political and civil rights on “an equal footing with the rest of society, without discrimination”.
Syrian state news agency Sana said several people have been killed during the clashes and 142,000 displaced.
