The Japan Times - Syrian army says controls Aleppo district, Kurdish forces deny claim

Government forces began striking the Sheikh Maqsud district overnight after a deadline elapsed for Kurdish fighters to withdraw during a ceasefire.

AFP correspondents in Aleppo reported that gunfire in the area -- the city's last district still in Kurdish hands -- continued into the morning.

The army announced Saturday the "completion of a full security sweep of the Sheikh Maqsud neighbourhood", while urging residents to stay in their homes due to the continued presence of Kurdish forces.

A military source previously told the official SANA news agency that "a number of SDF members" -- a reference to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces -- had been arrested during the operation.

But Kurdish forces later said claims that the government now controlled the vast majority of Sheikh Maqsud were "false and misleading".

They reported street clashes with "government militias", and characterised the artillery fire as "systematic criminal conduct aimed at spreading terror".

In a statement posted by the defence ministry, Syria's army called on "armed elements" to "surrender themselves and their weapons immediately".

The violence in Syria's second city erupted after efforts to integrate the Kurds' de facto autonomous administration and military into the country's new government stalled.

Since the fighting began on Tuesday, at least 21 civilians have been killed, according to figures from both sides, and tens of thousands have fled Aleppo.

The clashes, some of the most intense since Syria's new Islamist authorities took power, present yet another challenge as the country struggles to reunify after ousting longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

Both sides blamed the other for starting the violence in Aleppo.

Early Friday, Syrian authorities announced a window for the Kurdish fighters to leave, but they refused.

In response, Syria's army warned it would renew strikes on military targets in Sheikh Maqsud and urged civilians to get out ahead of the district's takeover by security forces.

An AFP correspondent saw residents flee with belongings.

- 'Fierce' resistance -

Kurdish forces reported coming under artillery and drone attacks, and claimed on social media to be mounting a "fierce and ongoing resistance".

The army said three soldiers had been killed by Kurdish fighters, while state television accused them of launching drones at residential areas of Aleppo.

A flight suspension at Aleppo airport was extended until late Saturday.

The SDF controls swathes of Syria's oil-rich north and northeast, and was key to the 2019 defeat of the Islamic State group.

But Turkey, a close ally of neighbouring Syria's new leaders, views its main component as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which agreed last year to end its four-decade armed struggle against Ankara.

Turkey has launched successive offensives to push Kurdish forces from the frontier.

Elham Ahmad, a senior official in the Kurdish administration in Syria's northeast, accused Syrian authorities of "choosing the path of war" by attacking Kurdish districts and of "seeking to put an end to the agreements that have been reached".

"We are committed to them and we are seeking to implement them," she told AFP.

- US mediation -

The March integration agreement was meant to be implemented last year, but differences, including Kurdish demands for decentralised rule, have stymied progress.

Ahmad said "the United States is playing a mediating role... we hope they will apply pressure to reach an agreement".

US envoy Tom Barrack said Saturday morning he had discussed the situation with Jordan's foreign minister, with both parties expressing a desire for "consolidating the ceasefire, ensuring the peaceful withdrawal of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from Aleppo, and guaranteeing" civilians' safety.

They also called for the implementation of the integration agreement.

Turkey, which borders Syria, has launched successive offensives to push Kurdish forces from the frontier.

Nanar Hawach, senior Syria analyst at the International Crisis Group, said the renewed clashes cast doubt on the government's ability to sew the country back together after 14 years of civil war.

"If the fighting escalates, international actors will wonder about Damascus's capacity to govern Syria's heterogeneous society," he added.

Syria's authorities have committed to protecting minorities, but sectarian bloodshed rocked the Alawite and Druze communities last year.

Y.Watanabe--JT