Syria: Siege persists in Aleppo’s Kurdish enclaves despite SDF-Damascus truce
Tensions are rising over plans to integrate the Kurdish-led SDF into the new Syrian military amid clashes between government-affiliated and Kurdish forces in Syria’s largest city.
The siege of Kurdish neighborhoods in Syria’s Aleppo is ongoing as of Wednesday, according to local reports, despite a ceasefire between the government and local forces following deadly clashes earlier in the week.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, reported Wednesday that Syrian government forces are blocking the entry of food and fuel into the predominantly Kurdish Sheikh Maqsud and al-Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods, cutting off water and electricity and preventing civilians from entering or leaving the area.
Haven Suleiman, the co-chair of the Sheikh Maqsud and al-Ashrafiyeh neighborhood council, told the Iraqi Kurdish news outlet Rudaw on Wednesday that the siege is ongoing and roads in and out of the enclave remain closed.
Clashes broke out in the neighborhoods on Monday night between the Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. At least one member of the military was killed after the SDF attacked a government checkpoint, according to the Syrian government’s SANA news outlet. The SDF denied the claim, saying its forces had left the area months ago.
