Syrian army and SDF reach ceasefire deal in Aleppo city following clashes

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(Corrects second bullet point to say “Deal followed” (not “Fighting followed”)

(Reuters) -The Syrian army and the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) reached a ceasefire deal in two districts of Aleppo city, Syria’s state news agency SANA reported on Tuesday, following a spike in tensions between the two sides.

The Syrian army had redeployed along several frontlines with the Kurdish-led group in northeast Syria, the Defence Ministry said on Monday, saying the move was not a prelude to military action but to prevent repeated attacks and attempts by the SDF to seize territory.

Recent clashes between the two sides have cast a shadow over a landmark deal signed in March between the Kurdish-led SDF and Syria’s new Islamist-led government to integrate the SDF into state institutions.

The deal aimed to stitch together a country fractured by 14 years of war and pave the way for Kurdish-led forces that hold a quarter of Syria to merge with Damascus, along with regional Kurdish governing bodies.

Witnesses said the Syrian army had earlier sealed off two neighbourhoods in Aleppo, both under SDF control, prompting scattered protests by residents.

Witnesses also said sporadic clashes continued on the outskirts of the two Kurdish-run neighbourhoods, with residents reporting rockets fired from inside the districts hitting nearby residential areas.

One security officer was killed in an attack on a checkpoint, a security source said. Kurdish fighters associated with the SDF said they had repelled an attack by government forces. Dozens of families in the two neighbourhoods were fleeing for safety, two residents said.

SDF CALLS FOR LIFTING OF ‘SIEGE’

SDF spokesperson Farhad Shami accused government factions of attempting to enter two Kurdish-held districts of Aleppo with tanks.

He denied accusations that SDF personnel had targeted checkpoints, saying the group had no forces in the two neighbourhoods of Ashrafiya and Sheikh Maqsoud.

Farhad called for the lifting of what he described as a siege, warning that the government’s actions were a dangerous escalation that worsens the plight of local residents.

The SDF have stepped up raids in several majority-Arab towns under their control, saying the operations targeted Islamic State sleeper cells. The raids, along with an accelerated campaign to recruit youths for military conscription, have triggered an outcry among some Arab tribal groups who accuse the SDF of discrimination, a charge the group denies.

U.S. Syria envoy Tom Barrack and CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper met with SDF commander General Mazloum Abdi and senior officials in northeast Syria, Abdi said on Monday. The talks focused on accelerating implementation of the March agreement with Damascus.

Sporadic clashes have stepped up in recent days, with both Damascus and the SDF accusing each other of provocations.

The March deal, brokered under U.S. auspices after Bashar al-Assad’s ouster in December, sought to fold the Kurdish-led forces into Syria’s institutions and hand key assets, including border crossings, an airport, and oil-and-gas fields, to Damascus by the end of the year. Progress has since stalled amid mutual recriminations.

Washington has also pressed the Kurds to accelerate negotiations to join Damascus under terms acceptable to both sides. Turkey has also accused the SDF of stalling and warned of military action if it does not integrate into Syria’s state apparatus.

(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Additional reporting by Enas Alashray; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Neil Fullick)