Syrian army and SDF trade blame over escalation in Aleppo

The Syrian army and the Syrian Democratic Forces exchanged accusations on Wednesday over renewed escalation in the northern city of Aleppo, amid conflicting accounts of shelling, siege conditions and security developments in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighbourhoods.

In a statement carried by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), the Syrian Ministry of Defence’s media department accused the SDF of targeting residential areas of Aleppo with mortar fire and heavy and medium machine guns, causing civilian casualties and damage to public and private property.

The ministry also alleged that SDF forces prevented hundreds of residents from leaving the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighbourhoods by firing to intimidate them, and accused the group of planting mines on main and secondary roads as well as inside public and private buildings in both areas.

In response, the SDF’s General Command rejected the accusations, saying the two predominantly Kurdish neighbourhoods have been under a complete siege by what it described as “Damascus government factions” for more than six months. The SDF said the areas pose no military threat and are not being used as launch points for attacks on Aleppo.

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The SDF insisted that its forces no longer maintain a military presence in the city, citing what it described as a documented and publicly announced withdrawal and the transfer of security responsibilities to internal security forces. It described the Syrian army’s claims as fabricated and aimed at justifying the continued siege and bombardment.

The group called on guarantor states and relevant Syrian government parties to immediately halt the siege and shelling, warning that continued targeting of civilians in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh could push the country back towards “open warfare”.

According to media reports, Syrian army forces began shelling the Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhoods on Wednesday afternoon, shortly after the expiry of a deadline set by the army for civilians to leave the areas. This followed what were described as the most intense clashes between the two sides in months.

Government and Kurdish forces have accused each other of triggering the fighting, which reportedly left nine people dead and 27 wounded. The escalation comes amid stalled negotiations between Damascus and the SDF, despite an agreement signed in March that provided for the integration of Kurdish self-administration institutions into the framework of the Syrian state.

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