Aleppo, Syria – Tensions escalated in Aleppo today as clashes broke out between government forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the northern part of the city. Sniper fire from SDF positions reportedly targeted areas around the Shihan and Lairamoun roundabouts, triggering an exchange of fire between the two sides.
Sources on the ground confirmed that both government forces and the SDF sustained casualties in the fighting. The Syrian Civil Defence reported that two of its members were wounded by SDF gunfire near the Ashrafieh district while attempting to provide aid.
Syrian state news agency SANA reported that SDF forces used machine guns, RPGs, and mortars to target the vicinity of the Ashrafieh district and the area stretching from Shihan roundabout to Lairamoun roundabout. SANA further stated that dozens of families and factory workers were forced to flee the Lairamoun area due to the SDF’s actions.
According to reports, the gunfire occurred in areas near the Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsood districts, which are under SDF control. Initial information suggests that the attacks originated from within these districts, targeting government forces’ positions. The SDF, however, claimed that its forces were responding to an attack by government forces on an SDF military checkpoint.
The SDF media center stated that two of its fighters were wounded in what it described as an attack by factions affiliated with the Syrian Ministry of Defense on an SDF checkpoint in Aleppo. The media center further stated that it holds the Syrian government “fully responsible for these attacks.”
In response, the Syrian Ministry of Defense denied the allegations, stating that SDF forces “suddenly attacked positions of internal security forces and the army in the vicinity of the Ashrafieh district.” The ministry asserted that “army forces are responding to sources of SDF fire that are targeting the homes of civilians, their movements, and army and security deployment points in the vicinity of the Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafieh districts.”
The Lairamoun roundabout is a crucial junction connecting the northern Aleppo countryside to Aleppo city, and these recent events have further destabilized the region.
