The Syrian army on Tuesday declared an area east of Aleppo a “closed military zone,” signaling a possible escalation in tensions with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), officials said, reports AP.
The move follows several days of clashes in Aleppo last week that displaced tens of thousands of residents and ended over the weekend with the evacuation of Kurdish fighters from the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood. Syrian authorities have since accused the SDF of reinforcing positions near Maskana and Deir Hafer, about 60 kilometers east of Aleppo, allegations the SDF has denied.
In a statement, the SDF said government forces had begun shelling areas around Deir Hafer but reported no casualties. Damascus has not publicly commented on the claim.
Eastern Aleppo has long been a tense frontline between government-controlled territory and SDF-held areas in northeastern Syria. State news agency SANA said the zone was declared closed due to what it described as continued SDF mobilization and its alleged use as a launch point for Iranian-made suicide drones targeting Aleppo.
A drone struck the Aleppo governorate building on Saturday, hours after a press briefing by two cabinet ministers and a local official. The SDF denied responsibility. In its statement on Tuesday, the army called on armed groups to withdraw east of the Euphrates River.
The tensions come amid stalled political talks between Damascus, led by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, and the SDF. A March 2025 agreement envisioned the SDF’s integration into the Syrian army by the end of the year, but disagreements persist over implementation. Some factions in the new army, formed after the fall of former President Bashar Assad in December 2024, include former Turkey-backed insurgents with a history of conflict with Kurdish forces.
The SDF, a longtime U.S. partner in the fight against ISIS, is designated a terrorist organization by Turkey because of its links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). While Washington continues to support the SDF militarily, it has also strengthened ties with al-Sharaa’s government and urged Kurdish leaders to move forward with the March agreement.
Separately, Shams TV, based in Irbil in Iraq’s Kurdish region, said it had postponed a scheduled interview with al-Sharaa for “technical reasons,” without announcing a new broadcast date.
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
