The Syrian army Thursday launched a limited and targeted operation against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in two neighbourhoods in the city of Aleppo.
The military warned civilians in two besieged Kurdish neighbourhoods in Aleppo to leave Thursday ahead of a fresh wave of strikes targeting the SDF’s positions.
Thousands have already fled the area following clashes between the army and Kurdish-led forces that have killed more than a dozen people.
As of Jan. 7, more than 46,000 people had been displaced across the province, according to Aleppo’s Directorate of Social Affairs and Labour.
The violence comes as the two sides struggle to implement a March deal to merge a semi-autonomous administration and military run by the SDF in Syria’s north into the country’s new government.
Shops, universities, and schools were closed for a second consecutive day in Aleppo Thursday.
The violence erupted on Jan. 6 and have left 17 people dead.
On Jan. 7, thousands of civilians fled the two Kurdish neighbourhoods of Sheikh Maqsud and Ashrafiyeh via two corridors set up by the army, which then went on to shell the areas after an evacuation deadline.
Thursday, the authorities again announced that civilians would be able to leave before 1 p.m., with the army warning that it would resume bombardment half an hour after that deadline expired.
A military official on the ground told AFP that the army’s operation was “limited” and aimed at “pressuring the SDF fighters to leave the area so that the authorities could extend their control over the entire city.”
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U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged both sides to show restraint and swiftly resume negotiations to implement the March agreement, according to spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
A U.S. State Department official said in a statement that the U.S. “is closely monitoring the situation” and urged “restraint on all sides.”
It said U.S. envoy Tom Barrack is trying to facilitate dialogue between the two sides.“
All parties should focus on how to build a peaceful, stable Syria that protects and serves the interests of all Syrians, rather than pushing the country back into a cycle of violence,” the statement said.
In Israel, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned what he called “serious and dangerous” attacks against the Kurdish minority.
In July, Israel bombed Damascus during violence between the Islamist authorities and the Druze minority in southern Syria, saying it wanted to protect the community, many of whose members live in Israel.
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