ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The shelling of Aleppo’s majority-Kurdish neighborhoods continues on Wednesday following a day of intense clashes between Kurdish-led forces and Damascus-affiliated factions, raising the death toll to six.

In a statement, the Kurdish-led internal security forces (Asayish) announced the names of six civilian casualties, as well as a member of the security forces within their ranks who was killed by “intense shelling” by “factions affiliated with the Syrian Ministry of Defense.”

Ronahi TV, affiliated with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), said a total of six people were killed and 41 others injured since the fighting began.  

Tensions rose between the Kurdish-led SDF and the Syrian government on Monday after the Syrian defense ministry accused the SDF of carrying out a drone strike on their positions in Deir Hafer, a claim denied by the Kurdish-led force as a pretext to inflame tensions.

It soon led to renewed clashes in Aleppo’s Kurdish-majority neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh, with fighting ongoing as of Wednesday morning. 

Both sides have traded blame for the clashes. 

“There are still many casualties that we have been unable to reach at this time,” according to the Asayish.

Meanwhile, Damascus-linked Aleppo Media Directorate on Tuesday accused the Kurdish-led SDF of initiating the attacks, reporting several casualties among government personnel.

But Asayish forces positioned in Aleppo asserted that their ranks are not under the SDF control in response. “These accusations are made towards the security forces, saying that the security forces are the SDF. We have rejected these claims numerous times,” an Asayish spokesperson said, adding that “the only responsibility of the security forces is the protection of their land and people.” 

The US-backed SDF is the de facto army of northeast Syria (Rojava) and controls about a third of Syria’s territory. 

As a result of the clashes, the Aleppo-Gaziantep road was closed by security forces, and flights at Aleppo International Airport were suspended for 24 hours.

The escalations follow a high-level meeting on Sunday between an SDF delegation headed by the forces’ chief Mazloum Abdi and officials in Damascus, discussing the implementation of the March 10 agreement concerned with the integration of Kurdish-led units in the country into the Syrian army.

While the Kurdish side asserted that the meeting was held in a “professional and responsible” manner, ensuring “well-considered results,” Syrian sources told state media that it did not lead to any “tangible results.”

The implementation of the agreement has been stalled due to the Kurdish side demanding a democratic integration while Damascus maintains its centralized stance, with frequent clashes between the two sides further escalating tensions.

Armed altercations between the Asayish and Syrian forces have been particularly reported in Aleppo’s two main Kurdish-majority neighborhoods, Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh, with the forces repeatedly trading blame for the attacks.

The clashes build on political tensions between Damascus and the SDF over failures to complete the integration agreement.