The Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) agreed to halt fire after violence erupted in the city of Aleppo, killing two civilians and injuring others.
The clashes took place amid ongoing high-level talks over plans to integrate the SDF into Syria’s state institutions by an agreed deadline on December 31, 2025.
De-Escalation in Aleppo
Late on Monday, the Syrian Defense Ministry announced that the Syrian army’s general staff had issued an order to “halt targeting of SDF fire sources in Aleppo,” reported the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).
Shortly after, the SDF said they had “issued directives to our forces to cease responding to attacks” amid ongoing de-escalation efforts.
The wave of attacks in Aleppo, which both sides blamed on each other, has killed two people and injured several others. According to Syria’s Health Ministry, SDF shelling on residential neighborhoods left two people dead and wounded 15 others, including two children and two civil defense workers.
On the other hand, the SDF said that rocket and tank shelling by the government forces killed and elderly woman and injured at least 17 civilians.
Clashes Outbreak
The trigger of the clashes between the Syrian government forces and the SDF is not immediately clear with each side holding the other responsible.
The Syrian Interior Ministry spokesperson, Nour Eddin al-Baba, told Al-Ikhbariya TV that the attacks began after the Syrian military detected suspicious hostile activity from SDF positions toward its sites and neutralized the threat. Later, the SDF withdrew its forces from joint checkpoints and opened fire directly on internal security units, injuring two personnel.
SANA reported that the SDF attacked several neighborhoods in Aleppo city, including Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhoods and Al-Razi Hospital, with mortar shells, rocket launchers, and heavy machine guns.
SDF Denies Responsibility
Meanwhile, the SDF denied allegations of initiating the attack, blaming factions affiliated with the Syrian government for “carrying out provocations and attacks against civilians” amid government inaction.
“The shelling of residential neighborhoods taking place today is a direct result of the actions of these factions, particularly in western and northern Aleppo. Rockets are being launched from their positions along clear military trajectories toward the city’s neighborhoods, with the aim of undermining security and inciting unrest. These factions have escalated further by deploying tanks and artillery to bombard the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods, in a dangerous escalation that threatens civilian lives and regional stability,” the SDF said in a statement.
Syrian-Turkish Talks
The violence in Aleppo erupted as Damascus received a high-level Turkish delegation led by Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan. The Turkish Minister’s talks with Syrian officials focused on SDF integration into the Syrian army, according to SANA.
“Syria’s stability means Türkiye’s stability. This is extremely important for us,” Fidan said during a press conference with his Syrian counterpart, Asaad Al-Shaibani. However, he suggested that the SDF has no intention of implementing the March 10th agreement.
Similarly, Al-Shaibani questioned SDF’s commitment to the agreement. “We have not seen a serious commitment from them to implement the agreement,” the Syrian Foreign Minister said, adding that Damascus had submitted a proposal to the SDF to advance the agreement and was reviewing a response it received on Sunday, without elaborating.
The March 10th agreement between Ahmed Al-Sharaa’s government and the Kurdish-led forces requires the SDF to merge with the new Syrian army by the end of the year. However, Türkiye, which views the SDF as a terrorist organization due to its links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), has opposed the Kurdish-led forces joining the army as a single unit.
