The Japan Times - Nine dead in clashes between Syria govt, Kurdish forces in Aleppo

The implementation of a March deal to merge the Kurds' semi-autonomous administration and military into Syria's new Islamist government has largely stalled.

Tensions have occasionally erupted into clashes, particularly in Aleppo, which has two Kurdish-majority neighbourhoods.

Both sides traded blame over who started Tuesday's fighting, which continued into the night and is among the deadliest violence between the government and Kurdish forces since the toppling of Bashar al-Assad more than a year ago. It also adds to concerns about progress on the integration deal.

On Tuesday morning, the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said factions affiliated with the government "targeted the Sheikh Maqsud neighbourhood".

By evening, the SDF said the death toll in the Kurdish-majority Sheikh Maqsud and Ashrafiyeh districts had risen to four civilians including two women and a child.

It reported "indiscriminate artillery and missile shelling" on the areas, including "the use of drones... direct sniper fire and heavy-weapon fire".

Sheikh Maqsud and Ashrafiyeh have remained under the control of Kurdish units linked to the SDF, despite Kurdish fighters agreeing to withdraw from the areas in April.

- Stalled integration -

In a statement carried by state news agency SANA, the defence ministry said the SDF targeted "a number of neighbourhoods in Aleppo city adjacent to the districts it controls".

SANA reported five people killed by SDF fire -- four civilians including a child, in addition to a member of the defence ministry personnel.

The agriculture ministry said two of the dead were workers at a research centre.

"The SDF is again proving that it does not recognise the March 10 agreement and is trying to undermine it," the defence ministry said.

Civil aviation authorities announced "the suspension of flights to and from Aleppo airport for 24 hours and their diversion to Damascus airport" due to the violence, SANA reported.

Governor Azzam al-Gharib announced schools, universities and government offices in Aleppo city would be closed on Wednesday and public events cancelled, citing "the current situation and the targeting of several hospitals and institutions by indiscriminate SDF artillery shelling".

The SDF controls swathes of Syria's oil-rich north and northeast, and supported by a US-led international coalition was key to the territorial defeat of the Islamic State group in Syria in 2019.

The March agreement on its integration into the state was supposed to be implemented by the end of 2025.

- 'Lay down' weapons -

In Ankara, Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler said "the PKK (the Kurdistan Workers' Party) and all affiliated groups must immediately cease all terrorist activity in regions where they are present, including in Syria, and lay down their weapons without condition".

The SDF is dominated by the People's Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish militant group seen by Ankara as an extension of the PKK, which earlier this year agreed to end its four-decade armed struggle against Turkey.

"We will not allow any terrorist organisation -- particularly the PKK, the PYD, the YPG, and the SDF -- to establish a foothold in the region," Guler added.

A close ally of the new authorities, Turkey shares a 900-kilometre (550-mile) border with Syria and has launched successive offensives to push Kurdish forces from its frontier.

Also on Tuesday, the SDF accused factions affiliated with Syria's army of attacking Deir Hafer, around 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of Aleppo, and near the strategic Tishreen Dam to the city's northeast.

The Kurdish-led force affirmed its right to "respond legitimately to these attacks".

On Sunday, SDF chief Mazloum Abdi held further talks with officials in Damascus on integrating the Kurdish-led forces, but state media reported no tangible results.

The Kurds are pushing for decentralised rule, an idea which Syria's new Islamist authorities have rejected.

Last month in Aleppo, clashes killed five people, while Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan urged the SDF not to be an obstacle to Syria's stability.

T.Kobayashi--JT