SDF, Syrian army trade blame as fighting intensifies in Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud

Shafaq News– Aleppo

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Friday accused the Syrian government of spreading falsehoods about the fighting in Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, rejecting claims that Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) fighters were involved in the clashes.

In a statement, the SDF-affiliated Internal Security Forces (Asayish) in Aleppo said Damascus was pursuing a “systematic policy of misinformation,” alleging that those defending Sheikh Maqsoud were former regime elements or PKK members in an attempt to “distort facts and justify aggression against a civilian neighborhood.”

The statement said fighters in the area were locals “defending their families, homes, and dignity,” adding that figures linked to Syria’s former Baathist establishment now hold positions within current state institutions. The Asayish held the Syrian government and allied forces fully responsible for the violence, saying “media distortion will not conceal the truth, nor break the will of residents or the legitimacy of their self-defense.”

The Syrian army, however, presented a different account. Its Operations Authority said government forces had sought to contain what it described as SDF escalation through an agreement allowing SDF fighters to withdraw from Sheikh Maqsoud with their weapons. According to the army statement, SDF units instead targeted evacuation buses on three occasions and shelled military positions, killing three soldiers and wounding more than 12 others.

The Operations Authority said continued “delays and violations” by the SDF, alongside shelling of civilian and military sites in Aleppo, had undermined prospects for any renewed agreement. It announced that, after the expiry of all deadlines, Syrian forces had decided to launch a sweep of Sheikh Maqsoud to remove what it called “the organization’s presence,” ahead of handing the neighborhood to internal security forces and state institutions.

The fighting began earlier this week between Syrian government forces and the US-backed, Kurdish-led SDF in Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city. Both sides have traded blame over who initiated the clashes, which come amid stalled efforts to implement a deal to integrate the Kurdish administration and military structures into the country’s new government.

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