Seoul Gazette - Syrian army says swept Aleppo district after clashes with Kurdish fighters

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

In the morning, the army announced 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.

AFP correspondents in Aleppo said shelling in the area continued even after the announcement.

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.

In a statement posted by the Ministry of Defence, Syria's army said "the only remaining option for the armed elements in the Sheikh Maqsud area of Aleppo is 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 start of the fighting 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 to "surrender" and vowed to defend their districts.

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 laden with belongings fleeing before the two-hour humanitarian corridor closed.

- 'Fierce' resistance -

Kurdish forces reported coming under artillery and drone attacks, and claimed in a post 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 defeat of the Islamic State group in 2019.

But Turkey -- a close ally of 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.

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

A diplomatic source told AFP that US envoy Tom Barrack was headed to Damascus.

Barrack said in a statement Saturday morning that 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 shares a 900-kilometre (550-mile) border with Syria, has launched successive offensives to push Kurdish forces from the frontier.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric expressed alarm over the impact of the fighting on civilians and called on all parties "to swiftly return to negotiations to ensure the full implementation of the 10 March agreement".

Nanar Hawach, senior Syria analyst at the International Crisis Group, said the renewed clashes cast doubt on the government's ability to gain the trust of minority factions and 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.

H.Baek--SG