News- Middle East: Syria’s Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) forces have carried out a large-scale offensive against Aleppo’s Kurdish neighborhoods controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as insecurity persists across the Arab country a year after the ouster of former president Bashar al-Assad.

HTS forces launched a major assault on Aleppo’s predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods of Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud on Thursday, as clashes with SDF fighters entered their third day.

The confrontations underscore the continued failure to integrate the SDF forces into those of the HTS, as well as the heavy toll inflicted on civilians caught in the crossfire.

Damascus announced “concentrated operations against SDF positions in the neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud, Ashrafieh, and Bani Zeid after 1:30 p.m.,” alongside a curfew beginning at the same time “until further notice.”

Heavy attacks over the past three days have so far displaced thousands of people and killed at least 12 individuals, including two civilians on Thursday morning.

The SDF, the main US partner in the Arab country, reportedly targeted the positions of Syrian regime forces on the outskirts of Ashrafieh using drones. Some Kurdish sources said a number of regime forces had been captured inside Aleppo’s al-Suryan neighborhood.

The sources also spoke of a heavy counterattack by SDF forces against the regime troops on the outskirts of Ashrafieh, resulting in the retreat of forces affiliated with Syria’s regime.

Despite earlier claims by Syrian regime forces that no major offensive had begun, Kurdish security forces reported attempts by tanks and armored vehicles to break through the neighborhoods.

The scale of destruction has been severe, with civilians continuing to bear the brunt of the fighting.

“More than 300 houses have been completely destroyed or partially destroyed. All types of weapons have been used in this war, including bombs and tanks. The intense fighting is ongoing in both neighborhoods,” said Nouri Sheikho, the co-chair of the council administering Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh.

HTS-linked media, however, claimed that HTS forces were assisting civilians fleeing alleged SDF fire, a narrative rejected by Kurdish officials amid mounting civilian losses.

The violence reflects the breakdown of negotiations between Damascus and the SDF over a March agreement to integrate the Kurdish force into HTS forces.

The March agreement stipulated full integration by the end of 2025, and some SDF fighters left Aleppo neighborhoods in April under the deal as officials in Damascus reported no tangible progress after Sunday’s talks.

Disputes have centered on the SDF’s demand to remain under Kurdish command, enter as a bloc rather than be dissolved and conscripted, and preserve a decentralized system granting autonomy in north and east Syria.

Clashes have flared intermittently for months, with mutual accusations of obstruction. Last month, Damascus proposed absorbing the SDF’s roughly 50,000 fighters as intact divisions and brigades, in exchange for relinquishing parts of its command structure and allowing Syrian army units into oil-rich, US-occupied northern and eastern Syria.

The SDF reportedly rejected the offer, stating earlier this year that talks produced no “tangible results.”

The intense clashes underscore both Washington’s destabilizing influence in Syria and the ongoing civilian suffering caused by Kurdish forces and those loyal to former al‑Qaeda member Abu Mohammad al‑Jolani, who now leads the current HTS‑led regime in Damascus.

Source: Press TV