DAMASCUS, Jan 10 (NNN-SANA) – The Syrian interim government, yesterday, accused the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) of violating withdrawal arrangements in Aleppo, and announced a military operation in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhood.
Pro-Damascus forces said, SDF-linked fighters targeted evacuation buses on three occasions, shelled army positions, and attacked soldiers, leaving three servicemen dead and more than a dozen wounded, despite an earlier agreement, allowing SDF fighters to leave the neighbourhood with their personal weapons, to ease tensions.
“The policy of stalling, adopted by the SDF, accompanied by systematic shelling and targeting of civilian sites, before military ones in Aleppo, has reduced the chances of continuing any new agreement with this organisation,” the forces said.
They also alleged the presence of fighters affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Sheikh Maqsoud, accusing them of joining the SDF in killing more than 10 Kurdish youths, who refused to fight, and burning their bodies to intimidate residents. The PKK is designated a terrorist organisation by Türkiye, the United States, and the European Union.
Pro-Damascus forces said, the operation aims to remove what they called, “criminal elements” from Sheikh Maqsoud. Control of the neighbourhood will be transferred to internal security forces and state institutions, after the operation, they added.
Earlier yesterday, pro-Damascus forces completed their deployment in the neighbouring Ashrafieh district, following the SDF’s withdrawal there.
The latest developments follow days of intense clashes, shelling, and drone strikes in Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh, which have displaced many civilians and sharply escalated tensions between the Syrian interim government and the SDF, despite ongoing political talks on military integration.– NNN-SANA