Two weeks of clashes in Aleppo led to devastation in Kurdish neighborhoods.
The neighborhoods had been controlled by local Kurdish security forces for more than a decade. There had been calls to integrate the Kurdish forces, which are linked to the Syrian Democratic Forces, with the new Syrian security forces.
Ultimately, however, the clashes took place, and the Kurdish forces were forced out of the Kurdish neighborhoods. This leaves Kurds fearing that the fate of Aleppo might lead to Damascus pressing its gains by attacking the SDF in eastern Syria.
The Syrian transitional government used various methods to clear the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods of Kurdish security forces. Its forces surrounded and bombarded the neighborhoods. They called for the civilians to evacuate and declared the area a closed military zone.
After attempts to achieve a ceasefire, many Kurds had to flee, and the remaining Kurdish fighters left for eastern Syria.
“Attacks launched last week by factions within the Syrian Transitional Government’s Ministry of Defense on the predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh in Aleppo caused a large displacement of residents following days of violent clashes,” North Press Agency, a Syrian news agency that is considered close to the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in eastern Syria, reported Wednesday.
SDF condemns atrocity: Militia executed security member
Ahmed Sheikhmous, who is co-chair of the Office of Displaced Persons and Refugees in the Autonomous Administration, said 292 families have arrived in areas of northern and eastern Syria so far.
“These families were distributed among the cities of northeastern Syria, including 93 families in the city of Hasakah, 13 in Kobani, 84 families in Qamishli, 74 families in Tabqa, and 28 families in the city of Raqqa,” he told North Press Agency.
There are also concerns about how the detainees are being treated by the Syrian authorities. In addition, there are concerns about the desecration of the bodies of the fallen. One image showed a Kurdish woman fighter being thrown off a building.
“In a new atrocity in Sheikh Maqsoud, Damascus government militias executed a female member of the Internal Security forces in cold blood, proceeded to mutilate and abuse her body, and then discarded it by throwing it... a savage act that exposes their complete disregard for humanity and the laws of war,” the SDF said.
There have been calls to investigate this incident.
“The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) warned that Turkey’s direct and escalating intervention in Syria threatens to expand the scope of the ongoing conflict in the region, as Ankara intensifies its drone attacks and continues to fly warplanes over areas in the north and east of the country,” North Press Agency reported.
“[The SDF] said in a field update on Wednesday that a Turkish Bayraktar drone targeted one of its military positions in the village of al-Bu’asi, in the countryside of Tabqa city, wounding several of its fighters who were subsequently transferred for medical treatment. The SDF clarified that this attack was the third by Turkish drones in a single week.”
On Tuesday, the SDF said: “In the context of ongoing escalation, a Turkish Bayraktar drone targeted a military position belonging to our forces in the city of Maskanah without causing any casualties. This marks the second attack of the day, reflecting a serious and continuous escalation in the area.”
US Central Command said the US was closely monitoring developments in Aleppo.
It is clear that there is intense concern now that the clashes in Aleppo may be a curtain-raiser for more clashes in eastern Syria.
The major concern now shifts to Dayr Hafir and a front line between the SDF and Syrian government forces that stretches along areas near the Euphrates River. The SDF had seized some of these areas when the Syrian regime fell, especially a pocket of control near Dayr Hafir. This area is near the village of Maskanah.
Pro-government Turkish media outlets are chomping at the bit for a conflict. This reflects Ankara’s views.
TRT (Turkish Radio and Television Corporation), for instance, reported: “Syrian army sends reinforcements to eastern Aleppo amid tensions with YPG terror group.”
This is how Ankara’s media allies often refer to the SDF, calling it a terrorist group.
It is unclear if Western countries or others can get Damascus to de-escalate, or whether the battles in Aleppo will now lead to worse clashes along a long front line between the SDF and Damascus-backed forces.
Both Damascus and the SDF are backed by the US.