Syria’s Kurdish-led SDF, government forces clash in Aleppo province

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have said that armed factions associated with the country’s security forces have attacked some of its positions in the northern province of Aleppo, as efforts by Syria’s fledgling government to unify the nation have been hit on several fronts.

In a post on X, the group, which controls much of northeastern Syria, claimed the incident took place early on Monday morning in the Deir Hafer area.

The allegation comes just months after the SDF and the Syrian interim government signed a landmark integration agreement in March.

Government-linked factions launched an assault on four of the SDF’s positions in the village of Al-Imam at 3am on Monday morning, the SDF said, noting that the ensuing clashes lasted for 20 minutes.

“We hold the Damascus government fully responsible for this behaviour, and reaffirm that our forces are now more prepared than ever to exercise their legitimate right to respond with full force and determination”, the SDF added.

The latest incident came after the Syrian government accused the SDF of injuring four soldiers and three civilians in the northern city of Manbij on Saturday.

The Defence Ministry called the attack “irresponsible”, saying it had been carried out for “unknown reasons”, according to Syria’s state news agency SANA.

Meanwhile, the SDF, which allied with the United States to help defeat ISIL (ISIS) in the region, blamed the Syrian government, saying it had responded to an unprovoked artillery assault against civilians.

Such skirmishes have cast a shadow over the integration pact the SDF made with Damascus in March, following the fall of longtime President Bashar al-Assad in December.

As part of efforts to reunify the country after almost 14 years of ruinous war, which killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions, the agreement seeks to merge Kurdish-led military and civilian institutions with the state.

As well as its clashes with the SDF, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s new government is grappling with the fallout from sectarian violence that broke out on July 13 in the southern province of Suwayda between Bedouin and Druze groups, during which government troops were deployed to quell the fighting. The bloodshed worsened and Israel carried out strikes on Syrian troops, and also bombed the heart of the capital Damascus, under the pretext of protecting the Druze.

Despite the ongoing ceasefire there, four deaths were reported in the province over the weekend, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights saying that three of the victims were government soldiers and one was a local fighter. Syria’s state media reported on deaths among security forces.