Syrian army intensifies strikes in Aleppo against Kurdish fighters | News from the war in Syria

The Syrian army is engaged in intense fighting in Aleppo after fighters from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) refused to withdraw under a ceasefire, as more civilians fled their homes to escape the violence in the northern Syrian city.

Aleppo’s emergency chief, Mohammed al-Rajab, told Al Jazeera Arabic that 162,000 people have fled fighting in the Achrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhoods.

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A Syrian military source told Al Jazeera Arabic that the army is “making progress” in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, the epicenter of the most intense fighting, and now controls 55% of the area.

Separately, the official Syrian news agency SANA said the army had arrested several SDF members during its latest operations in Sheikh Maqsoud, which the army announced Friday evening after the expiration of the deadline for Kurdish fighters to evacuate the area, imposed as part of its temporary ceasefire.

The Syrian Defense Ministry declared the ceasefire earlier on Friday, following three days of clashes which erupted after the central government and the FDS failed to implement a agreement fold the latter in the state apparatus.

After some of the fiercest fighting since last year’s overthrow of former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, Damascus offered Kurdish fighters a six hour window to withdraw to their semi-autonomous region in the northeast of the country in a bid to end their long-standing control over parts of Aleppo.

But the Kurdish councils that rule the districts of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh have rejected any “surrender” and pledged to defend the areas they have ruled since the early days of Syria’s war, which broke out in 2011.

The Syrian army then warned it would resume strikes on Sheikh Maqsoud and urged residents to evacuate through a humanitarian corridor, releasing five maps highlighting the targets, with strikes beginning about two hours later.

As violence erupted, the SDF published images on

According to a Defense Ministry statement cited by the official SANA news agency, the hospital was an arms depot.

In another article on

The Syrian army later said three of its soldiers were killed and 12 wounded in SDF attacks on its positions in Aleppo.

He also claimed that Kurdish fighters in the neighborhood killed more than 10 young Kurds who refused to take up arms with them, then burned their bodies to intimidate other residents.

The SDF said on X that these claims were part of the Syrian government’s “policy of lies and disinformation.”

At least 22 people have been killed and 173 injured in Aleppo since fighting began on Tuesday, the worst violence in the city since Syria’s new authorities took power after toppling Bashar al-Assad a year ago.

Syria’s civil defense director told state media that 159,000 people had been displaced by fighting in Aleppo.

Mutual distrust

The violence in Aleppo has highlighted one of the main fault lines in Syria, with powerful Kurdish forces controlling swaths of Syria’s oil-rich northeast and resisting integration efforts by the government of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

THE agreement between the SDF and Damascus was struck in March last year, with the former expected to join the Syrian Defense Ministry by the end of 2025, but Syrian authorities say there has been little progress since.

Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh remained under the control of Kurdish units linked to the SDF, despite the group’s claim that it withdrew its fighters from Aleppo last year, leaving Kurdish neighborhoods in the hands of Kurdish Asayish police.

Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst, said there were significant gaps between the two sides, particularly over the integration of Kurdish fighters into the army as individuals or groups.

“What would you do with the thousands of female fighters who are now an integral part of the Kurdish forces? Would they join the Syrian army? How would that happen?” » said Bishara.

“The Kurds are skeptical of the army and the way it is constituted in Damascus, as well as of the central government and its intentions. While… the central government is, of course, suspicious and skeptical of the Kurds’ desire to join as Syrians a strong and united country,” he added.

Turkey refrains from any military action

Amid the clashes, Syrian President al-Sharaa spoke by telephone with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, saying he was determined to “end the illegal armed presence” in Aleppo, according to a statement from the Syrian presidency.

Turkey, which shares a 900-kilometer border with Syria, views the SDF as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has waged an armed struggle for four decades against the Turkish state, and has warned of military action if the integration deal is not respected.

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler welcomed the Syrian government’s operation, saying that “we consider Syria’s security as our own security and…we support Syria’s fight against terrorist organizations.”

Omer Ozkizilcik, nonresident senior fellow for the Syria Project at the Atlantic Council, told Al Jazeera that Turkiye had intended to launch an operation against SDF forces in Syria months ago, but refrained at the request of the Syrian government.

Elham Ahmad, a senior official in the Kurdish administration in northeastern Syria, accused Syrian authorities of “choosing the path of war” by attacking Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo and attempting to end agreements between the two sides.

The alarm spreads

Al-Sharaa spoke with Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani on Friday, saying the Kurds were “a fundamental part of the Syrian national fabric,” the Syrian presidency said.

The former al-Qaeda commander has repeatedly pledged to protect minorities, but government-aligned fighters have killed hundreds of Alawites and Druze over the past year, sowing disquiet among minority communities.

A spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed “grave concern” about the ongoing violence in Aleppo, despite efforts to de-escalate the situation.

“We call on all parties in Syria to show flexibility and resume negotiations to ensure the full implementation of the March 10 agreement,” said Stéphane Dujarric.

The French Foreign Ministry said it was working with the United States, which has long been a key supporter of the SDF, particularly during its fight to oust ISIL (ISIS) from Syria, to defuse the situation.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday urged al-Sharaa to “show restraint,” reiterating his country’s desire to see “a united Syria where all segments of Syrian society are represented and protected.”