Seven injured in SDF-Syrian govt clashes in Aleppo as high-level Turkish delegation visits

Seven people have been injured in clashes between Syrian government security forces and fighters from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on the outskirts of the predominantly Kurdish Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah areas of Aleppo, which are controlled by the SDF.

Two members of the Syrian Civil Defence were injured on Monday evening after being targeted by SDF snipers at the Sheikh An roundabout near Ashrafiya and Sheikh Maqsoud, The New Arab’s Arabic edition reported.

Three civilians were also injured, as were two fighters from the SDF’s Asayish security force.

The Syrian Ministry of Emergencies and Disaster Management said in a statement that a Civil Defence rescue vehicle had come under fire when four staff members aboard were heading to Aleppo Province’s Emergency and Disaster Management Directorate building, located at the Sheikh An roundabout.

The vehicle was clearly marked with Civil Defence insignia, and all four staff were wearing official uniforms, according to the statement.

The two Civil Defence workers injured by SDF fire were immediately transported to hospital. The ministry called their targeting “a serious crime and a blatant violation of humanitarian law”.

However, the SDF said that government-affiliated forces had attacked at the Sheikh An roundabout, resulting in the injury of two members of the Asayish security forces.

It accused government forces of “continuing uncontrolled escalation that threatens the security of the city and the lives of civilians” while accusing the Damascus government of responsibility for the attacks.

Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported that the Syrian Ministry of Defence sent reinforcements to the outskirts of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah after the clashes, adding that heavy and medium machine guns were used in the clashes.

Part of the road between Aleppo and the Turkish city of Gaziantep was also closed as a result, according to the Syrian state news agency SANA.

This is not the first time clashes have broken out in this area. Last October, one civilian and three members of the Syrian security forces were killed by Asayish gunfire, with a further 26 people injured.

Continued doubts over integration agreement amid Turkish visit

The SDF controls most of northeastern Syria, as well as the two predominantly Kurdish areas of Aleppo, and last March signed an agreement with the government stipulating the merger of their forces with those of the government, but this has not been implemented.

The clashes coincided with the visit of a high-level Turkish delegation, including Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defence Minister Yasar Guler, and intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, to Damascus for talks with Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa and other senior Syrian officials.

Turkey considers the Kurdish groups, which make up the main component of the SDF, to be "terrorist" organisations and has previously waged three major military campaigns against them.

Turkey has called on the SDF to adhere to the integration agreement, and the talks in Damascus were focused on the integration agreement.

"Syria's stability means Turkey’s stability. This is extremely important for us," Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan said. He said that the SDF should "cease to be an obstacle to Syria achieving stability, unity and prosperity."

Meanwhile, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shibani, speaking alongside Fidan, accused the SDF of deliberate stalling.

"We have not seen an initiative or a serious will from the Syrian Democratic Forces to implement this agreement. There has been systematic procrastination," he said.