Kurdish groups reject Aleppo withdrawal as US pushes to end fighting

Kurdish groups rejected a Syrian government demand for their fighters to withdraw from parts of Aleppo under a ceasefire proposed on Friday, with Damascus conducting new strikes and Western powers urging an end to days of clashes.

The violence in Aleppo has brought into focus one of the main faultlines in Syria as the country tries to rebuild after a devastating war, with Kurdish forces resisting efforts by President Ahmed al-Sharaa's Islamist-led government to bring their fighters under centralised authority. 

At least nine civilians have been killed and more than 140,000 have fled their homes in Aleppo, where Kurdish forces are trying to cling on to several neighbourhoods they have run since the early days of the war, which began in 2011. 

The ceasefire announced by the defence ministry overnight demanded the withdrawal of Kurdish forces to the Kurdish-held northeast. That would effectively end Kurdish control over the pockets of Aleppo that Kurdish forces have held.

DEFENCE MINISTRY ANNOUNCES PLANNED ATTACKS 

But in a statement, Kurdish councils that run Aleppo's Sheikh Maksoud and Ashrafiyah districts said calls to leave were "a call to surrender" and that Kurdish forces would instead "defend their neighbourhoods", accusing government forces of intensive shelling.

The Syrian defence ministry later said it intended to target areas of Aleppo it said were being used by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to launch attacks on the "people of Aleppo", posting five maps highlighting areas it would strike. It began those strikes roughly two hours later.  

Kurdish security forces in Aleppo said the map included a hospital which it said had been struck four times since Thursday, and that it would hold Damascus responsible for any harm to civilians. 

Syria's defence ministry disputed that, saying the structure was a large arms depot and that it had been destroyed in the resumption of strikes on Friday.

It posted an aerial video that it said showed the location after the strikes, and said secondary explosions were visible, proving it was a weapons cache.

Reuters could not immediately verify the claim.

The SDF is a powerful Kurdish-led security force that controls northeastern Syria. It says it withdrew its fighters from Aleppo last year, leaving Kurdish neighbourhoods in the hands of the Kurdish Asayish police.

Under an agreement with Damascus last March the SDF was due to integrate with the defence ministry by the end of 2025, but there has been little progress.

FRANCE, U.S. SEEK DE-ESCALATION

France's foreign ministry said it was working with the United States to de-escalate.

A ministry statement said President Emmanuel Macron had urged Sharaa on Thursday "to exercise restraint and reiterated France's commitment to a united Syria where all segments of Syrian society are represented and protected."

A Western diplomat told Reuters that mediation efforts were focused on calming the situation and producing a deal that would see Kurdish forces leave Aleppo and provide security guarantees for Kurds who remained.

The diplomat said U.S. envoy Tom Barrack was en route to Damascus. A spokesperson for Barrack declined to comment.

Washington has been closely involved in efforts to promote integration between the SDF - which has long enjoyed U.S. military support - and Damascus, with which the United States has developed close ties under President Donald Trump.        

The ceasefire declared by the government overnight said Kurdish forces should withdraw by 9 a.m. (0600 GMT) on Friday, but no one withdrew overnight, Syrian security sources said.

Barrack had welcomed what he called a "temporary ceasefire" and said Washington was working intensively to extend it beyond the 9 a.m. deadline. "We are hopeful this weekend will bring a more enduring calm and deeper dialogue," he wrote on X.

TURKISH WARNING

Turkey views the SDF as a terrorist organisation linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), and has warned of military action if it does not honour the integration agreement.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, speaking on Thursday, expressed hope that the situation in Aleppo would be normalised "through the withdrawal of SDF elements". 

Though Sharaa, a former al Qaeda commander who belongs to the Sunni Muslim majority, has repeatedly vowed to protect minorities, bouts of violence in which government-aligned fighters have killed hundreds of Alawites and Druze have spread alarm in minority communities over the last year.

The Kurdish councils in Aleppo said Damascus could not be trusted "with our security and our neighbourhoods", and that attacks on the areas aimed to bring about displacement.

Sharaa, in a phone call with Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani on Friday, affirmed that the Kurds were "a fundamental part of the Syrian national fabric", the Syrian presidency said.

Neither the government nor the Kurdish forces have announced a toll of casualties among their fighters from the recent clashes.