Renewed clashes between Damascus forces and Kurdish units in Aleppo underscore how fragile efforts to integrate the SDF into Syria’s new security framework remain, despite ceasefire agreements.
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN | DECEMBER 23, 2025
A major gun battle developed in Aleppo between law enforcement of the government in Damascus and local security forces of two Kurdish neighborhoods.
This is not the first time that there have been clashes in Aleppo in these areas. However, this battle quickly threatened to escalate until a ceasefire was announced.
It was unclear what prompted the clashes this time. Yet, there have been tensions between the transitional government in Damascus and Kurdish groups aligned with the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.
The two neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah have been secured by their own local Kurdish security force for many years. Even during Bashar al-Assad’s regime, these neighborhoods were basically autonomous for much of the civil war after 2012. After the fall of the Assad regime, the neighborhoods retained their own local forces, who are well-armed.
The two neighborhoods were intended to integrate into the wider city of Aleppo, and an agreement appeared to have been reached in the spring and summer that would lead to peace.
In March, the head of the SDF, Mazloum Abdi, met with the new Syrian president, Ahmed al-Sharaa. They agreed to integrate the SDF into the new Damascus-run security forces.
Both neighborhoods – Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah – could serve as a model for how this might be implemented at the local level. Instead, clashes persist.
According to Kurdish media Rudaw, “At least two persons have been killed and around a dozen others injured in clashes that erupted in northern Aleppo on Monday between the Kurdish-led internal security forces (Asayish) and Damascus-affiliated factions, with both sides blaming each other for the fighting that also forced dozens of families to evacuate their homes.”
The report, based on a post by the Kurdish Asayish security force, noted that “a checkpoint jointly manned by our forces and the [Damascus-affiliated] general security forces at the al-Shihan roundabout in [northern] Aleppo came under an armed attack by factions affiliated with the interim Defense Ministry, leaving two of our personnel injured with varying degrees of wounds.”
Asayish stated that they were exercising their right to self-defense.
SDF: Attack is ‘clear continuation of uncontrolled escalation’
The SDF has called the attack “a clear continuation of uncontrolled escalation that threatens the city’s security and civilian lives, and exposes the Damascus government’s inability to control its factions,” Rudaw noted.
Syrian state media SANA noted that Syrian Interior Ministry spokesperson Nour Eddin al-Baba “affirmed that the SDF carried out systematic attacks today in Aleppo, directly targeting densely populated residential neighborhoods and al-Razi Hospital.”
According to SANA, “The assaults resulted in the death of two civilians and injuries to others, including several civil defense volunteers.” Damascus says that this is part of attempts to undermine the March 10 agreement signed with the Syrian state.
Baba went on to say in an interview with Syrian Al-Ikhbariyah TV “that the attacks began after the Syrian Arab Armed Forces detected suspicious hostile activity from SDF positions toward its sites.”
“The threat was neutralized, after which the SDF withdrew its forces from joint checkpoints and opened fire directly on internal security units, injuring two personnel,” Baba told Al-Ikhbariyah.
He further said that the SDF was at fault for targeting other Aleppo neighborhoods, even accusing them of firing at a hospital. “The counterattack killed more than 13 SDF members, including a senior commander,” the report claimed.
Damascus said it is still committed to integrating with the SDF. Baba “emphasized that such attacks will not deter the state from pursuing peaceful solutions and Syrian-Syrian dialogue,” SANA said.
“Baba pointed out that the SDF is in disarray after failing to impose a new reality on the ground, relying instead on boosting its military posture and external support hostile to the Syrian state,” the report continued.
“He asserted that time is on the side of the state, which continues to strengthen its political legitimacy, as reflected in the lifting of sanctions on the Syrian people and broad popular engagement with reconstruction efforts.”
The Syrian and Kurdish forces agreed to a ceasefire after midnight. Fighting appeared to have ended by Tuesday morning.
Still, Syrian state media continued to slam the SDF throughout the day. The Syrian Health Ministry, for instance, also blasted the SDF.
Meanwhile, a UN official told Rudaw that he hoped the guns would be silenced. Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres, was quoted by Rudaw as saying that the UN has seen “very disturbing reports of increased clashes between the government of Syria’s security forces and the [Kurdish-led] SDF.”
He further said that “earlier this year, we had seen positive signs of discussions between the government and the SDF.”
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