As a deadline is approaching for plans to integrate the Syrian army into Syria’s state institutions, injuries have been reported following clashes between the Syrian army and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Aleppo.
The SDF launched attacks on Syrian security forces positions close to the Sheihan and Lairmoun roundabouts in Aleppo, according to a report from Syria’s state-run SANA news agency on Monday.
According to the news agency, SDF is pursuing the Gaziantep-Aleppo road from the Lairmoun and Sheihan roundabouts.
Two of the Syrian Civil Defense’s rescuers were hurt when the SDF fired on the vehicle they were traveling in, according to the Syrian Civil Defense, and two children also suffered “various injuries” as a result of SDF gunfire at the Sheihan roundabout.
In a statement shared by SANA, the Syrian Interior Ministry also reported that two security personnel were hurt in a SDF-held “treacherous” attack.
The ministry claimed that SDF forces stationed in Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods committed a treacherous offense against the Internal Security Forces at joint checkpoints this evening.
In advance of a looming deadline, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan traveled to Syria’s capital Damascus to meet with Syrian officials about the integration of the SDF into the nation’s new army.
After Bashar al-Assad was removed in December of last year, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa established a partnership with the SDF to integrate the organization into the nation’s state institutions.
However, the integration process’s specifics were vague, and the implementation of the agreement has been stalled.
Ayman Oghanna, a journalist from Damascus, claimed that the high-level meeting between Syrian and Turkish officials “catalysed” the clashes on Monday. He claimed that “hear reports of heavy gunfire and even shelling.”
“Damascus had previously suggested combining the 50, 000 SDF fighters under the control of a limited number of Syrian divisions.” The Turks reportedly wanted to destroy the SDF’s current command structure, Oghanna explained.
Since 2015, the US-backed SDF has seized a sizable portion of northeastern Syria.
The most flammable factor in Syria right now is probably the integration of SDF into the government forces. It poses a serious threat to Syria’s national unity because of its extreme hotspot.
There are many reasons why the agreement hasn’t been implemented, according to Samy Akil, a non-resident fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy.
According to Akil, “The SDF is under a lot of pressure to start implementing this agreement and basically give up in the Syrian armed forces’ territories,” Akil told Al Jazeera.
He added that the Syrian government is under “a significant pressure from [Turkiye] to find a diplomatic solution at the same time.”
“These clashes happened under a lot of pressure on both sides, and I believe the intention was to destabilize the discussions or put more pressure on the Turkish side.”
Conflicting topics
A major issue was whether the SDF would remain a coherent unit within the new Syrian army or if it was to be disbanded and its members formally absorbed into the new military.
The SDF joining as a single unit has been opposed by Turkiye, which views it as a “terrorist” group due to its ties to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
It is unclear how close the parties are to finalizing the preliminary agreement, which has been reached by Kurdish officials.
The end of the year was the original deadline for the March agreement’s implementation, and there were concerns about a military conflict if progress is not made by that point.
Asaad al-Shibani, the SDF’s foreign minister, told Fidan on Monday that the government had not seen “an initiative or a serious will” to implement the integration agreement.
According to al-Shibani, “there has been systematic procrastination.”
Source: Aljazeera
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