Syria
A general view of the Kurdish-majority Sheikh Maqsood neighborhood in northern Aleppo on February 23, 2018. Photo: AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdish-led internal security forces (Asayish) in Syria’s northern Aleppo province on Monday accused Damascus-affiliated factions of launching an attack on one of their military outposts in Kurdish-majority neighbourhoods in the province, reportedly resulting in injuries among the attackers.
In a statement on X, the General Command of the Asayish in Aleppo said they “repelled an attack by armed factions affiliated with the Ministry of Defense in the Damascus government.”
The assault reportedly targeted a security checkpoint near the Kurdish-majority Sheikh Maqsood and al-Ashrafiyah neighborhoods in northern Aleppo on Monday afternoon.
According to the statement, the Asayish "directly dealt with the attempted assault," which “resulted in the injury of three members of the attacking faction and downing a drone used during the operation.”
The Kurdish-led security forces reaffirmed their “continued commitment to protecting our people, maintaining the security and stability of the area, and confronting all attempts that threaten civil peace.”
The incident comes despite the signing of a landmark agreement between the interim government in Damascus and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) - with which the Asayish is affiliated - on March 10. The accord outlines the integration of “all civil and military institutions in northeast Syria [Rojava] under the administration of the Syrian state” and establishes a “ceasefire across all Syrian territory.”
A follow-up agreement in April, reportedly brokered with American involvement, established a joint security framework for Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafiyeh and included provisions for prisoner exchanges.
Despite these agreements, reports of sporadic clashes have continued in those regions.
In mid-August, the Asayish reported that two of their members were injured in an attack carried out by an “interim government-affiliated” drone in Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafiyeh.
However, in a statement to Rudaw, the Syrian defense ministry then stated, “No attack was carried out by our forces on any neighborhoods in the city of Aleppo, whether they are Kurdish-majority or otherwise, and all news in this regard is baseless.”
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment