The Syrian Defence Minister and the Syrian Democratic Forces’ (SDF) commander have reached an ‘immediate’ ceasefire agreement in Aleppo following armed clashes over the last two days.
Syrian Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra met with Mazloum Abdi, commander of the SDF, today in Damascus to reach a ceasefire agreement.
The two leaders agreed to an “immediate” ceasefire in northern and northeastern Syria, following an armed clash around the Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhood in Aleppo on Monday, according to local media sources.
The armed clash left one security personnel dead, with several others reportedly injured when PKK/YPG rebels shelled the residential area, who were operating under the SDF in this instance.
“We agreed on a comprehensive ceasefire across all fronts and military positions in northern and northeastern Syria, with the implementation of the agreement to begin immediately,” said the Syrian minister on X.
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK/YPG) is a Kurdish militant group based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of southeastern Turkey, northern Iraq, and north-eastern Syria. The SDF is also a Kurdish-led military coalition.
Armed clashes
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The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that the ceasefire agreement covers the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighbourhoods of Aleppo city in northern Syria.
The Aleppo governor’s office stated that all public and private schools, as well as universities and other official institutions, were forced to close on Tuesday due to the armed clashes.
The PKK/YPG rebels attacked Syrian security forces with heavy artillery weapons such as mortar shells in Aleppo’s Christian Quarter, according to Anadolu Agency’s correspondent on the ground.
Just a day prior to the attack on Monday, the PKK/YPG launched an initial assault on Syrian security forces in Deir Hafer, east of Aleppo.
In the most recent attack on Monday, SDF snipers were also active in the brief clash, having taken up positions on rooftops in the neighbourhood.
SDF spokesperson Farhad Shami has denied that the attacks were carried out by the SDF, claiming that the group had no forces in the Sheikh Maqsoud and al-Ashrafieh neighbourhoods at the time of the attack on the checkpoints.
The SDF claimed its forces withdrew from the area months ago, blaming the outbreak of violence on aggression by government forces.
The recent ceasefire, which took effect today, comes months after the new Syrian government’s decision to integrate the SDF into official state institutions on March 10 this year.
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa’s government was clear on stressing the importance of the country’s territorial integrity, taking a firm stance against any separatist movements that would threaten its current position.
These measures come as part of a series of moves from the new Syrian government to restore security and stability across Syria following the ousting of Bashar al-Assad last December, which ended a 54-year dynastic rule.
