The Kurdish internal security forces (Asayish) announced early Thursday that state forces had resumed attacks on the heavily populated neighborhoods of Ashrafiyeh and Sheikh Maqsood, killing at least eight “civilians” and injuring 57 others since Tuesday.
Both Damascus and Kurdish forces have been trading blame for the latest hostilities.
The government has also reported casualties it claims were caused by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the de facto military force in northeast Syria (Rojava).
The SDF withdrew from the Ashrafiyeh and Sheikh Maqsood last year as part of a deal it had signed with Damascus in April. On Wednesday, the SDF reiterated that it does not maintain any military presence in the quarters. Of note, the Asayish are affiliated with the SDF.
The latest round of violence is unfolding despite the landmark agreement between the SDF and Damascus reached in March, which established a nationwide ceasefire. Talks between the SDF and the interim government are also ongoing, with the latest engagement held Sunday without yielding any tangible results, according to state media.
The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported on Thursday, citing a military statement, that residents of Ashrafiyeh and Sheikh Maqsood neighborhoods would be placed under a curfew starting at 1:30 pm (local time), as the army plans to intensify attacks on Kurdish fighters securing the area. The campaign will also extend to the Bani Zaid neighborhood, another Kurdish-majority area located between the two.
Earlier, the SDF had published two videos that it said showed “factions of the Damascus [interim] government shelling the densely populated Sheikh Maqsood neighborhood in the city of Aleppo with heavy artillery,” accusing the factions of “deliberately targeting civilians” and “committing a documented war crime that cannot be justified by any religious or military slogan.”
Update | Aleppo
For the third consecutive day, factions affiliated with the Damascus government continue their artillery and tank shelling on residential neighborhoods in the Ashrafieh district of Aleppo, in a dangerous escalation targeting civilian-populated areas.
According to… pic.twitter.com/tZwKcYBnmd