ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Damascus-affiliated forces on Friday launched another operation targeting positions of the Kurdish fighters in one of Aleppo’s Kurdish-majority neighborhoods, despite mounting civilian casualties and ongoing international efforts to end the violence.
The Syrian Arab Army’s Operations Command announced, “the commencement of a sweep operation to remove the criminal presence of this [Syrian Democratic Forces] organization,” adding that “once the sweep concludes, the [Sheikh Maqsood] neighborhood will be handed over to internal security forces and state institutions to resume their regular work directly.”
The SDF, the de facto military force in northeast Syria (Rojava), withdrew from the neighborhood and other parts of Aleppo as part of an agreement it signed with Damascus on April 1 last year. The SDF handed over the security of the area to the internal security forces (Asayish), which is affiliated with the Kurdish-led force.
The army claimed the SDF had attacked buses it had sent to the vicinity of the neighborhood to offer the Kurdish fighters a safe transportation to Rojava in return for handing over the area to the army. Kurdish fighters declined the offer and decided to continue resisting.
“The SDF attacked the army’s buses three times, shelled army positions, and targeted soldiers, resulting in the martyrdom of three soldiers and injuries to more than 12 others,” the army said.
Asayish denied targeting the army.
“This fabricated narrative is nothing but a shameless justification for the crimes of its militias and a preemptive attempt to cover up violations committed against civilians. It confirms our serious concerns for the fate of residents who were forced to leave the neighborhood under brutal shelling, before many of them were kidnapped by these factions,” said the Kurdish force.
Clashes between Damascus-affiliated forces and Asayish have destroyed hundreds of homes in the Kurdish-majority Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods in recent days. Thousands have been displaced, with tens reported killed.
A brief ceasefire brokered by the US and France collapsed on Friday.
The escalation comes despite a landmark agreement reached in March between Damascus and the SDF that established a nationwide ceasefire. Talks between the two sides are ongoing, but the latest round, held on Sunday, failed to produce tangible results, according to Syrian state media.