ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Calm reportedly has returned to Kurdish-majority neighborhoods in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo since dawn following a preliminary agreement between Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), ending a day of deadly clashes and mutual accusations that left at least one person dead and several injured on both sides. The state-run al-Ikhbariya TV reported that the situation had stabilized in the Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafieh neighborhoods after the two sides reached an agreement to halt hostilities. Kurdish forces have not confirmed the truce. According to multiple Kurdish outlets and the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, more than a dozen protesters were injured on Monday during a violent crackdown by security forces aligned with the Damascus government. The demonstrations had erupted after the closure of all seven entrances to the Kurdish-majority neighborhoods, which have been under the control of Kurdish forces for many years. The Syrian’s White Helmets, a civil defense organization supported by Damascus, said one person was killed and five others were wounded by “rocket shelling” attributed to the SDF. The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) also reported that one member of the state-affiliated Internal Security Forces was killed and four others injured when SDF forces “targeted security checkpoints” around Sheikh Maqsood. Farhad Shami, spokesperson for the SDF, denied the accusations and condemned the attacks. “Peaceful civilians in Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood came under a brutal attack with heavy weapons and machine guns by factions affiliated with the Interim Government in Damascus,” he said in a post on X early Tuesday, adding that the escalation was “a direct result of the provocations” by Damascus-affiliated groups. Shami shared videos, previously published by pro-government media, purportedly showing tanks and heavy machinery moving through the neighborhoods and said, “Our forces have not been present in the area since their withdrawal under the April 1st agreement.” That agreement, reportedly brokered with US involvement, established a joint security framework for Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafieh. While SDF fighters withdrew as part of the deal, local internal security forces known as Asayish remained active. The Asayish said Monday they had “repelled a widescale attack launched by forces affiliated with the Interim Government on several fronts” near the two neighborhoods. Damascus officials, however, blamed the SDF for the violence. Aleppo Governor Azzam al-Gharib told al-Ikhbariya TV that the injured civilians were victims of “bombings by the SDF that targeted residential neighborhoods.” SANA and other state outlets echoed that claim, accusing the Kurdish forces of violating the April security arrangement by targeting checkpoints and firing rockets into the city. Pro-SDF media outlets have also reported that attacks by Damascus-affiliated forces have injured “tens” of residents of the neighborhoods. The Democratic Union Party (PYD), Rojava’s ruling party, condemned the attacks and expressed solidarity with residents of both Kurdish neighborhoods, vowing that “they will not be alone in protecting their existence.” The PYD also urged all Syrians “to exercise wisdom and responsibility, confront plots of sedition and internal strife, and refrain from rhetoric of hatred and sectarianism to preserve the social fabric and Syrian blood.” Fawza Youssef, a member of the PYD presidential body, warned that the closure of crossings and the “escalation policy pursued by the Syrian interim government” point to “a destructive scenario for Syria.” “This will only result in more division and fragmentation, and there will be no victor in such a war except those with ulterior motives,” she said on X. Bedran Ciya Kurd, an adviser to the Kurdish-led Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES), said that factions loyal to Turkey within the Syrian government “moved toward Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh, closing all entrances and exits,” while also attacking fronts near Deir Hafer. “Our people in the two neighborhoods will not be alone in protecting their existence if they face any attack,” he said, calling on Syrians “to confront these plans and strife that target all segments of Syrian society” and urging international and regional powers to help ensure stability and support dialogue between the Kurdish administration and Damascus. Tensions between SDF and state-affiliated armed groups have escalated in recent weeks despite a March agreement between SDF chief Mazloum Abdi and Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa calling for a nationwide ceasefire. Both sides have blamed one another for breaching the deal. The tensions have been high in Deir Hafer district of Aleppo province, which separates SDF from government forces.
