A fighter of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) loads a machine gun belt onto a turret along a technical vehicle as others deploy to impose a curfew in the town of al-Busayrah in Syria's northeastern Deir Ezzor province on Sept. 4, 2023. (Credit: Delil Souleiman/AFP archive photo)
Clashes erupted in Aleppo on Monday between the Syrian army and the U.S.-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), resulting in the death of at least two people and the wounding of several others, Reuters reports.
The cause of this latest spate of violence is not clear and both sides are trading blame for sparking the fighting, as a deadline to integrate the SDF into Syria’s state institutions nears.
State news agency SANA, citing Aleppo's health directorate, said the civilians were killed in shelling by the SDF on residential neighborhoods in the city.
The Syrian Ministry of Interior said in an earlier statement that an Internal Security member, a soldier, civil defense personnel and civilians had been injured, and the Syrian Civil Defence said two of its rescuers were injured after the vehicle they were traveling in was fired upon by the SDF, according to Al Jazeera.
The media center of the SDF said that two of its members were injured in an attack by factions affiliated with the Ministry of Defense on one of its checkpoints in Aleppo. Cited by the Saudi channel al-Arabiya, the SDF said that it "holds Damascus responsible for the clashes in Aleppo."
The violence came hours after Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said during a visit to Damascus that the SDF appeared to have no intention of honouring a commitment to integrate into the state's armed forces by an agreed year-end deadline.
Turkey views the U.S.-backed SDF, which controls swathes of northeastern Syria, as a terrorist organisation and has warned of military action if the group does not honour the agreement.
SANA, citing the defense ministry, reported earlier that the SDF had launched a sudden attack on security forces and the army in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods of Aleppo, resulting in injuries.
The SDF denied this and said the attack was carried out by factions affiliated with the Syrian government, and which resulted in the injury of five civilians.
The defense ministry denied the SDF's statements, saying the army was responding to sources of fire from Kurdish forces.
Turkey's meetings in Syria
Turkey and Syria have developed close ties since the toppling of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad late last year and Ankara, a key supporter of the new authorities, sees the presence of Kurdish forces on its border with Syria as a security threat.
Fidan, Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler and intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin met with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a presidency statement said.
The visit aimed to address issues including progress on implementing a March 10 agreement between Damascus and the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led SDF, Turkey had said. Under the deal, the Kurds' civil and military institutions should be integrated into the central government by year end.
But differences between the sides have held up the deal's implementation despite international pressure, particularly from Washington.
"It is important that the SDF be integrated into the Syrian administration through dialogue and reconciliation, in a transparent manner, and that it no longer acts as an obstacle to Syria's territorial integrity and long-term stability," Fidan told a press conference with his Syrian counterpart Asaad al-Shaibani.
Shaibani said Damascus had received a response from the SDF regarding a draft Syrian defence ministry proposal on integrating the Kurdish-led forces into the army.
"Work is currently underway to study this response and how it responds to the national interest in achieving the integration and achieving a single unified Syrian territory," Shaibani told Monday's press conference.
Last week, a Kurdish official told AFP on condition of anonymity that Damascus's proposal included splitting the Kurdish-led forces into three divisions and a number of brigades, including one for women.
The forces would be deployed under Kurdish commanders in areas of northeast Syria currently under SDF control, the official said.
