ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Monday reported that their forces engaged in clashes with factions affiliated with the Damascus government, after the latter launched an attack on SDF positions in northern Syria.

“At exactly 3:00 a.m. on Monday morning, factions affiliated with the Syrian Transitional Government launched an attack on four of our positions in the village of al-Imam, located in the Dayr Hafir area,” read a statement from the SDF, adding that their forces confronted the attack, leading to clashes between the two sides that continued for 20 minutes.

The Kurdish-led force said that “this repeated aggression constitutes a deliberate escalation and poses a serious threat to the stability of the region.”

“We hold the Damascus government fully responsible for this behavior, and reaffirm that our forces are now more prepared than ever to exercise their legitimate right to respond with full force and determination,” the statement concluded.

The Syrian government and its affiliated outlets have yet to comment on the incident.

Monday’s clashes come amid growing tensions and repeated altercations between the SDF and the Damascus government in recent days.

In a statement to state media on Saturday evening, the Syrian defense ministry claimed that the army had been able to “repel an infiltration operation” by the SDF on one of the their deployment points in the countryside of Manbij near al-Kayaria village.

The ministry later accused the Kurdish-led forces of carrying out rocket strikes in Kayariya and its surroundings, leaving at least four army personnel and three civilians wounded.

Early on Sunday, the defense ministry said they had located a rocket launcher and a field cannon east of Aleppo province which were allegedly used by the SDF, and announced that the army was conducting “precise strikes targeting the sources of fire.”

The SDF denied the allegations and accused “undisciplined factions” within the government forces of continuing to “provoke” and attack lines of contact. The factions “indiscriminately” shelled populated areas with more than ten artillery rounds on Saturday night, “without justification,” said the SDF, stressing that they responded to the sources of fire in exercise of their right to self-defense.

Despite reaching an agreement in March to integrate Kurdish-led armed forces and institutions in north and east Syria into the Syrian state institutions, disagreements still run deep between the Kurdish authorities and Ahmed al-Sharaa’s government about the model of governance in Syria, with Sharaa aiming to consolidate power and maintain full sovereignty over all Syrian territories, while the Kurds advocate for a federal state where they maintain a degree of self-governance.

In an interview with the SDF-affiliated Hawar News Agency (ANHA) published on Monday, SDF chief Mazloum Abdi said that the March agreement was “necessary” in light of the ongoing tensions in Syria and the region at the time, stressing that "integration means partnership" and “cannot be imposed by force.”