In violent fighting in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo At least four people were killed and several others injured. Three of those killed were civilians and the fourth was an army soldier, the state news agency Sana reported. The Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) blame each other for the violence.
As the Reuters news agency reported, citing a local official, fighting is said to have flared up again in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh districts after a brief lull. Accordingly, we are in agreement with the government Damascus in contact to end the violence. According to the report, the government allegedly used rockets, artillery shells and tanks.
Schools, universities and government offices will remain closed on Wednesday
The Syrian Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said the SDF continued the “escalation” by attacking army positions and residential areas in Aleppo attacked. However, the SDF denied responsibility and said the victims died as a result of indiscriminate artillery and rocket fire by factions allied with the government in Damascus.
According to Aleppo Governor Azzam al-Gharib, schools, universities and government offices will suspend all activities on Wednesday due to the situation. The Syrian Civil Aviation Authority also announced that it would suspend air traffic to and from Aleppo airport for 24 hours from Tuesday. It announced it would divert scheduled flights to the airport in the Syrian capital until necessary assessments were completed.
SDF should merge into the Syrian military
The Clashes in Aleppo are the latest in a series of conflicts. This has been the case in Sheikh Maqsoud and the Ashrafieh district, which is also predominantly Kurdish, in recent months there were always fights. At the end of December, Syrian government troops and the SDF disbanded after renewed clashes agreed on de-escalation. Officials are trying to reach an agreement to address the deepest remaining divisions Syria by merging the US-backed SDF with the central government.
The Syrian government of interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa signed an agreement with the SDF in March. These were supposed to be transferred to the Syrian military by the end of last year. But both sides have made little progress and accuse each other of delaying implementation or acting in bad faith.
The SDF controls much of northeastern Syria and consists of tens of thousands of fighters. For years they have been the US’s most important partner in Syria in the fight against the terrorist group “Islamic State”. Turkey, on the other hand, considers the SDF a terrorist organization.
