Damascus says soldier killed, others injured in clashes with SDF near Tishreen Dam
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Syria's defense ministry said on Thursday that one of its soldiers was killed and others were injured in an attack allegedly launched by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the vicinity of Tishreen Dam, Aleppo province, despite a ceasefire agreement between the two rival sides to end clashes in the volatile region, according the state media. The SDF confirmed the fight, and blamed Damascus-affiliated groups for initiating it.
Citing a statement from the Syrian defense ministry, state-run al-Ikhbariya TV reported that the SDF forces "targeted Syrian Arab Army positions around the Tishreen Dam east of Aleppo, killing one soldier and wounding others."
The SD confirmed the skirmish, but blamed Damascus-affiliated groups of initiating the fight by trying to infiltrate into territories under their control, near the dam.
“Our forces immediately engaged the attacking group, leading to direct clashes that resulted in the death of one of the assailants, while the others fled, leaving the body of their comrade at the scene," the Kurdish-led force said.
The SDF has repeatedly recently accused groups affiliated with Damascus of attacking the strategic Tishreen Dam.
Tensions between SDF and state-affiliated armed groups have escalated in recent weeks despite a March agreement between SDF chief Mazloum Abdi and Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa calling for a nationwide ceasefire. Both sides have blamed one another for breaching the deal.
The renewed tensions came two days after a senior delegation from northeast Syria (Rojava), headed by SDF chief Mazloum Abdi met with Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Shaara, in the presence of senior American officials, a day after clashes erupted between Kurdish-led Internal Security Forces (Asayish) - affiliated with the SDF - and Syrian government forces in northern Aleppo’s quarters of Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafiyeh. After hours of deadly clashes, the SDF and the Syrian government forces eventually reached a ceasefire early Tuesday.
"Less than 48 hours after the ceasefire was announced, the SDF violated the agreement more than 10 times by targeting army positions on the deployment lines east of Aleppo," the defense ministry claimed.
Kurdish authorities of northeastern Syria (Rojava) have already also accused Damascus of breaching the ceasefire deal.
"The armed groups affiliated with the Syrian Interim Government have failed to uphold the ceasefire agreed upon yesterday between us and Damascus, which was meant to bring an immediate end to the fighting in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods," Bedran Ciya Kurd, an adviser to the Kurdish-led Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES), wrote in an X post on Wednesday night.