Civilians flee Aleppo as clashes between Syrian government and Kurdish forces escalate

ALEPPO, Syria — Fighting escalated in Syria's northern city of Aleppo on Wednesday after tens of thousands of residents fled two predominantly ethnic Kurdish neighborhoods when the military ordered civilians to evacuate the area.

The evacuations came amid the deadliest round of recent violence between government forces and Kurdish fighters.

Syria's military gave people until 3 p.m. (1200 GMT) to leave the neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Achrafieh, after which they would be considered a ''closed military area.'' Once the deadline ended, sounds of explosions were heard in the two neighborhoods.

More than 46,000 people have been displaced in different areas of the province, according to Aleppo's Directorate of Social Affairs and Labor.

Clashes and shelling earlier on Wednesday killed seven people in areas controlled by the Kurdish-led and U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, and five others in the government-controlled areas. Dozens of people have been wounded.

Syria's Information Ministry said the army would launch ''a limited military operation'' in Aleppo, saying it came in response to SDF attacks on government-held parts of the largest city in the country and once its commercial center. The ministry said that such attacks in recent months had killed more than 20 civilians and wounded more than 150 others, and resulted in the deaths of more than 25 soldiers.

The SDF — which has accused the government forces of attacking civilian neighborhoods and infrastructure and of imposing a ''suffocating and complete siege" on the Kurdish areas — said in a statement on Wednesday that government forces were using heavy weapons to attack the Sheikh Maqsoud and Achrafieh neighborhoods. It added that Kurdish forces are engaging in ''fierce resistance to repel'' the assault and protect the neighborhoods and their residents.

Civilians take shelter

The latest clashes are the deadliest so far between the two sides and come as efforts to merge the SDF with the national army have shown little progress.

The two predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods have witnessed intermittent clashes in recent months. Previous rounds of fighting ended with truce agreements.

A Kurdish man who left with his wife and four children on Wednesday told The Associated Press that the situation inside the two neighborhoods is harsh, including food and drinking water shortages.

''I am ready to stay in a garden in order to protect my children,'' said the man, who didn't give his name because he was fearful of repercussions. He said that he was originally from the northern region of Afrin that was captured by Turkish troops and Turkey-backed gunmen in 2018.

Since Tuesday evening the situation had been relatively calm only to explode again on Wednesday afternoon.

Renewed violence amid stalling talks

The SDF has tens of thousands of fighters and is the main force to be absorbed into Syria's military.

The leadership in Damascus under interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa signed a deal in March with the SDF, which controls much of the northeast, for it to merge with the Syrian army by the end of 2025. There have been disagreements on how it would happen. In April, scores of SDF fighters left Sheikh Maqsoud and Achrafieh as part of the deal.

Officials from the central government and SDF met again on Sunday in Damascus, but government officials said that no tangible progress had been made.

The SDF for years has been the main U.S. partner in Syria in fighting against the Islamic State group, but Turkey considers the SDF a terrorist organization because of its association with the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which has waged a long-running insurgency in Turkey. A peace process is now underway.

The SDF and Syria's government have accused each other of seeking to derail the March agreement.

There was no immediate comment from the Turkish government on the clashes in Aleppo.

However, Turkey's pro‑Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party, DEM, called for an end to assaults on Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo, saying the attacks violated the March agreement, and urged Turkey and other states to support democratization in Syria by halting military operations.

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