Aleppo – At least five people were killed and more than 20 others injured on Tuesday during clashes and mutual shelling in the city of Aleppo between the Internal Security Forces (Asayish) and units of the Syrian interim government’s Ministry of Defence.
Our correspondent reported that fighting broke out around the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighbourhoods in northern Aleppo, resulting in civilian and military casualties.
According to the correspondent, the outskirts of both neighbourhoods were targeted with drones and rocket fire as the clashes intensified, prompting the closure of all roads linking Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh with other parts of the city.
The Asayish accused Ministry of Defence forces of shelling the two neighbourhoods with heavy weapons and Grad rockets. In a statement published on Facebook, the Internal Security Forces said the attacks constituted a “clear violation of the signed agreements and ceasefire”, adding that their response came “within the framework of legitimate self-defence”.
In contrast, Aleppo’s Health Directorate announced that three people were killed and others injured as a result of shelling that struck areas near Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh.
The Ministry of Defence stated that one of its positions near Sheikh Maqsoud had come under attack, and that its forces responded to the sources of fire.
The clashes come less than two months after similar fighting erupted on 22 December between the Asayish and Ministry of Defence forces in Aleppo. At the time, our correspondent reported that hostilities ceased following a de-escalation agreement between the two sides.
The Asayish later said it had instructed its forces to halt retaliatory fire in response to mediation efforts aimed at calming the situation.
For its part, the Ministry of Defence’s Media and Communications Department said the army’s General Staff had ordered an end to strikes on firing positions in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh after a number of them had been neutralised, according to the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).
That round of clashes resulted in the deaths of three people and injuries to 27 others, including residents of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh as well as people from neighbouring districts.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said in a separate statement that government-aligned forces had launched a heavy attack using medium and heavy weapons against the two Aleppo neighbourhoods.
The SDF denied statements issued by the interim government accusing it of targeting Aleppo districts, noting that it had handed over its positions to the Asayish under an agreement reached in April.
The statement further alleged that factions affiliated with the interim government had used tanks and artillery against residential areas, calling for an investigation into what it described as repeated provocations over the past four months.
