ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Monday accused armed factions affiliated with the interim Damascus government of "indiscriminately shelling" areas east of Aleppo, reaffirming their right to self-defense. The statement came shortly after Syrian state media reported that the Damascus army had begun targeting the areas from which "SDF drones," which attacked Syrian army outposts earlier in the day, were launched.
In a statement on X, the SDF said, "Our forces affirm their full and legitimate right to defend both our fighters and our people amid the ongoing indiscriminate shelling currently targeting the city of Deir Hafer [east of Aleppo] by the 'al-Amshat' and 'al-Hamzat' factions, affiliated with the Damascus government and listed under international sanctions."
Of note, the Suleiman Shah Division, widely known as al-Amshat, and the Hamza Division, also known as al-Hamzat, are Turkey-backed armed factions that have resisted integration into the new Syrian military structure established following the ouster of longtime Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.
In August 2023, the US Department of the Treasury sanctioned the Amshat and Hamzat factions for “serious human rights abuses” in the Kurdish city of Afrin, northwest of Syria. The European Union subsequently imposed its own sanctions.
The Kurdish-led forces added that "these factions are deliberately targeting civilian homes, placing the lives of residents at extreme risk," while confirming that the "shelling has caused no material or human losses among our forces."
"The aggressors bear full responsibility for these crimes and violations, as well as all consequent repercussions," the SDF concluded.
The SDF statement came shortly after the state-run al-Ikhbariya TV reported that "the Syrian Arab Army has begun targeting the launch sites of drones belonging to the SDF in the vicinity of Deir Hafer, east of Aleppo." The report claimed that "drone attacks" by the Kurdish-led forces had "caused more than six injuries among civilians and the [Syrian] military police," while noting that the Syrian army’s response "will be limited."
Earlier in the day, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) had quoted the Syrian defense ministry's media arm as claiming that the SDF had “targeted a military police checkpoint using drones near the army’s deployment points" near Deir Hafer, as part of what it described as the Kurdish-led forces “ongoing escalation against army positions in various parts of the country."
The SDF, however, “categorically” denied the allegations, holding the ministry's media affiliate “fully responsible for the consequences” of its statement and affirming that they “remain committed to restraint and to the existing channels” of communication with Damascus.
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Last updated at 11:30 pm.