(MENAFN) A member of Syria’s internal security forces was killed Monday during violent clashes with Kurdish-led fighters in two northern Aleppo districts, escalating already fraught tensions between the transitional Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

The fighting erupted in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah neighborhoods, both under SDF control. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, heavy and medium-caliber weapons were deployed as pro-government forces launched what appeared to be an incursion into Sheikh Maqsoud.

By Monday night, Syrian army units had surrounded both districts, sealing off all entry points and effectively placing them under siege, the Observatory reported.

The Syrian military’s media office responded with a statement claiming the army’s movement in northern and northeastern Syria was “part of a planned redeployment following repeated SDF attacks on civilians, army, and security forces.” It emphasized that operations were designed to “secure strategic points” and denied any intention of launching a broader campaign against Kurdish forces.

The military stressed its commitment to the March 10 agreement with the SDF, which allows for continued Kurdish local administration of the neighborhoods while integrating them into state institutions. “The army stands by its responsibility to protect civilians' lives and property, as well as the safety of its personnel,” the statement said, while accusing the SDF of “continuous aggression.”

The same statement confirmed that “one internal security member was killed and three others wounded by SDF shelling.”

In a separate report, a state-run broadcaster said the SDF was firing mortars at military installations on the outskirts of both districts. The network cited local sources who described sustained artillery exchanges and loud explosions heard across Aleppo, prompting dozens of families to flee the contested areas.

The surge in hostilities marks a significant deterioration in the uneasy truce brokered after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024. The U.S.-backed SDF, a Kurdish-led alliance, has maintained control over parts of northern Syria, frequently clashing with Syrian government forces over territorial control.

Months of rising tensions between the two sides have threatened the fragile post-Assad peace process, with both accusing the other of undermining national unity and security.

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