By Menna AlaaElDin, Jaidaa Taha and Kinda Makieh
Dec 22 (Reuters) – Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces agreed to de-escalate on Monday evening in the northern city of Aleppo, after a wave of attacks that both sides blamed on each other left at least two civilians dead and several wounded.
Syria’s state news agency SANA, citing the defense ministry, said the army’s general command issued an order to stop targeting the SDF’s fire sources.
The SDF said in a statement later that it had issued instructions to stop responding to attacks by Syrian government forces following de-escalation contacts.
The Syrian health ministry said two people were killed and several were wounded in shelling by the SDF on residential neighbourhoods in the city. The injuries included two children and two civil defense workers.
The violence erupted hours after Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said during a visit to Damascus that the SDF appeared to have no intention of honouring a commitment to integrate into the state’s armed forces by an agreed year-end deadline.
Turkey views the U.S.-backed SDF, which controls swathes of northeastern Syria, as a terrorist organisation and has warned of military action if the group does not honour the agreement.
Integrating the SDF would mend Syria’s deepest remaining fracture, but failing to do so risks an armed clash that could derail the country’s emergence from 14 years of war and potentially draw in Turkey, which has threatened an incursion against Kurdish fighters it views as terrorists.
Both sides have accused the other of stalling and acting in bad faith. The SDF is reluctant to give up autonomy it won as the main U.S. ally during the war, which left it with control of Islamic State prisons and rich oil resources.
SANA, citing the defence ministry, reported earlier that the SDF had launched a sudden attack on security forces and the army in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah neighbourhoods of Aleppo, resulting in injuries.
The SDF denied this and said the attack was carried out by factions affiliated with the Syrian government. It said those factions were using tanks and artillery against residential neighborhoods in the city.
The defence ministry denied the SDF’s statements, saying the army was responding to sources of fire from Kurdish forces.
“We’re hearing the sounds of artillery and mortar shells, and there is a heavy army presence in most areas of Aleppo,” an eyewitness in Aleppo told Reuters earlier on Monday.
Another eyewitness said the sound of strikes had been very strong and described the situation as “terrifying”.
Aleppo’s governor announced a temporary suspension of attendance in all public and private schools and universities on Tuesday, as well as government offices within the city center.
(Reporting by Menna Alaa El-Din and Jaidaa Taha and Kinda Makieh; Writing by Menna Alaa El-Din; Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Nia Williams)
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