ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Damascus-affiliated forces are beefing up their presence near Kurdish-majority neighborhoods in Syria’s northern Aleppo province, a local official said, as tensions continue to rise between Syria’s interim authorities and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Nouri Sheikho, co-chair of the General Council for the Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods in northern Aleppo, warned on Wednesday that “the situation in these areas has been deteriorating for over a month.
“There has been a [sustained] media campaign targeting these neighborhoods,” Sheikho told Rudaw, noting that the military build-up includes “the establishment of new checkpoints, watchposts, and roadblocks,” spreading fear among the local population.
“People are increasingly worried that open conflict could erupt,” he warned.
This surge in military activity comes despite a landmark agreement signed on March 10 between the interim government in Damascus and the SDF. The accord outlines the integration of “all civil and military institutions” in northeast Syria (Rojava) under Syrian state administration, and stipulates a nationwide ceasefire.
However, the US-backed agreement has only been partially implemented.
Disagreements persist - most notably over the interpretation of “integration.” While the SDF has proposed joining the Syrian army as a unified force while retaining its current structure and specialization, Damascus insists on individually integrating SDF fighters into its ranks.
A follow-up agreement, signed in April reportedly with US involvement, created a joint security framework for Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafiyeh - areas controlled by Kurds for over a decade. That deal also included provisions for prisoner exchanges. As part of the implementation, SDF fighters were withdrawn from the two Kurdish-majority neighborhoods, although local forces affiliated with the SDF, known as Asayish, remain in place.
Mounting tensions
Despite the agreements, reports of sporadic clashes continue to surface.
In late September, the Asayish said they had “repelled an attack by armed factions affiliated with the Damascus government’s defense ministry” on Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafiyeh.
In his Wednesday interview with Rudaw, Sheikho accused these groups of intentionally provoking instability and attempting to incite conflict with the Kurdish forces in the two neighborhoods.
“An unusual number of armed men - some affiliated with the defense ministry and others operating outside the ministry’s authority - have been deployed near the Kurdish neighborhoods,” he said. According to Sheikho, this includes fighters from the Suleiman Shah Division, widely known as al-Amshat, and the Hamza Division, also known as al-Hamzat.
The Turkey-backed Amshat and Hamzat divisions have resisted integration into the new military hierarchy that came into place following the ouster of longtime Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.
In August 2023, the US Department of the Treasury sanctioned the Amshat and Hamzat factions for “serious human rights abuses” in the Kurdish city of Afrin. The European Union later imposed its own sanctions.
Both groups have been implicated in atrocities documented by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria.
Cutting lifelines
Beyond the Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo city, Sheikho on Wednesday reported that key roads connecting Aleppo with SDF-controlled areas - specifically through the district of Deir Hafer in eastern Aleppo - have been blocked by armed groups.
"The Deir Hafer road has been completely closed for a week. No vehicles or individuals have been able to pass,” he said, noting that travel times between Aleppo and other Kurdish-held areas in the country have doubled.
“In the past, it took about four hours to reach [Rojava]. Now, it takes eight to ten hours,” he added.
Deir Hafer has seen intermittent clashes and rising military tensions in recent days.
Damascus-aligned factions appear to be stepping up efforts to seize the district, which holds strategic value as a potential supply corridor to Raqqa province. Control over Deir Hafer would also give regime forces leverage over critical SDF-held infrastructure, such as the Tishreen Dam and Qere Qozaq bridge on the Euphrates River.
Sheikho sees these actions as part of Damascus’s broader push to force the SDF into a one-sided integration.
“They want to force us to unconditionally surrender after 20 years of fighting and sacrifices,” he said.
Nalin Hassan contributed to this article.