Syrian army, Kurdish-led SDF agree to stop deadly fighting in Aleppo

At least two people killed in clashes in northern city of Aleppo during Turkish FM Fidan’s visit to Syria.

Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have agreed to stop fighting in the northern city of Aleppo, after a wave of attacks left at least two civilians dead and several injured.

On Monday, Syria’s state news agency cited the Ministry of Defence as saying the army’s general command issued an order to stop targeting the SDF’s fighters after the deadly clashes erupted during a visit by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

Fidan said on Monday that the SDF, which controls swaths of northeastern Syria, appeared to have no intention of honouring its pledge to integrate into the state’s armed forces by an agreed year-end deadline.

The US-backed SDF is mostly made up of the People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Turkiye considers a “terrorist” organisation due to its links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Turkiye. PKK is designated as a “terrorist group” by the United States and the European Union. In March, the PKK announced it would give up armed struggle after a call from its jailed leader, Abdullah Ocalan. Thousands of people were killed in the four decades of armed rebellion against the Turkish state.

Following the SANA report, the SDF said in a later statement that it had issued instructions to stop responding to attacks by Syrian government forces following de-escalation contacts.