File image.
Two rounds of clashes broke out in Syria late on December 22, one caused by ethnic tensions in the northern governorate of Aleppo and another fueled by sectarianism in the southern governorate of Suwayda, in a clear example of how the country, more than a year after the fall of the regime of former President Bashar al-Assad, is becoming more insatiable and fragmented.
Aleppo
Clashes between the forces of the Islamist-led Interim Government and fighters affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) broke out in the heart of the city of Aleppo, ahead of a looming deadline to integrate the Kurdish-led group into Syria’s state institutions.
Heavy weapons, including main battle tanks, and even drones were used in the clashes, which took place around the Kurdish-majority neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh – under the de-facto control of the SDF -, mainly near the Sheihan and Lairmoun roundabouts.
Each side accused the other of opening fire first. The government, from its side, said that the SDF targeted rescuers and security forces. However, the group denied this, accusing factions affiliated with the Syrian government of carrying out attacks – a claim rejected by Damascus.
The clashes claimed the lives of three people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which said in a report that a woman was killed in Sheikh Maqsoud and another lost her life along with her son in nearby government-held areas.
More than 20 other people, including fighters, were wounded on both sides, according to the London-based monitoring group.
After several hours of fighting, the two sides agreed to halt firings just before midnight, with the state-run SANA news agency citing the defence ministry as saying that the Syrian army’s general staff had issued “an order to stop targeting the sources of fire”.
The SDF also announced that it had “issued directives to our forces to cease responding to attacks” by government forces.
The clashes came as Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan visited Damascus for talks with Syrian officials on the integration of the SDF into the country’s state institutions under an agreement reached back in March.
There has been no real progress towards implementing the agreement – signed by Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and SDF commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi – with Damascus insisting that the end of the year represents the end of a deadline the two sides agreed on.
Speaking from Damascus, Fidan said that the SDF, which Ankara considers a branch of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, appeared to have no intention of honouring its pledge to integrate into the state’ by year end. This statement and the visit as a whole were seen as a threat.
While the clashes had very much ceased by early December 23, later reports revealed that the SDF began deploying large reinforcements from the town of Deir Hafer in the eastern Aleppo countryside, all the way to the town of Ghanim al-Ali in the southern Raqqa countryside. The government already has a massive force deployed on this front.
Suwayda
Towards the end of the clashes in Aleppo city, fighting began in Suwayda between government forces and Druze fighters from the so-called National Guard, which was formed after the sectarian-fueled battle of July.
The clashes took place close to the towns of Rimat Hazm and Atil to the northwest and north of the city of Suwayda. Just like in Aleppo, both sides accused each other of attack first. Heavy weapons, including mortars, and drones were also used.
According to the SOHR, the fierce clashes, which went on until the early hours of December 23, claimed the lives of three personnel from government forces, and left at least four others wounded. On the other side, two National Guard fighters were killed and seven others were wounded.
Since a ceasefire brokered by the United States came into effect in July, there have been several similar rounds of clashes in Suwayda. The latest was the deadliest so far, however.
Talks between the Druze, led by Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, and the government – in control over 30 towns in the countryside of Suwayda – remain on halt. Meanwhile, Israel, which intervened on the side of Druze in July, maintains that it will protect the community out of respect for historical ties.
Instability
The deadly clashes in Aleppo and Suwayda shows that ethnic and sectarian tensions in Syria are growing. Despite making many promises, Damascus has not yet taken any step to share power, or engage in any meaningful talks with the Kurds or Druze. In fact, the government appears to be today more inclined to use force than before.
The issue with the SDF is especially concerning as all recent developments indicate that the March agreement will not be implemented by the end of the year, and that a major battle in northern and eastern Syria could break out within a few weeks.
In Suwayda, Damascus, although deterred by Israel, it is increasingly testing the waters, and attempting to escalate in a slow way. No major battle is expected there, that’s unless the government reaches a security agreement with Israel. The U.S. has been pushing towards this.
Besides these two flash points, tensions are mounting on the coast of Syria, where the government continues to discriminate against the Alawite community, which makes up the majority of the region. Recent weeks saw a series of protests, and a general strike. What comes next could be a serious insurgency.
All in all, despite all positive reports, especially in Arab and Western media, the situation in Syria is only getting worse. The country is today less stable, and more fragmented than it was when the Assad regime was overthrown more than a year ago. Everything indicates that the country is inching closer towards a new civil war, mainly as a result of Damascus refusal to share power in any meaningful way.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence
NOW hosted at southfront.press
Previously, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.org.
The .org domain name had been blocked by the US (NATO) (https://southfront.press/southfront-org-blocked-by-u-s-controlled-global-internet-supervisor/) globally, outlawed and without any explanation
Back before that, from 2013 to 2015, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.com
the mossad is making sure to keep syria a failed state with the help of their treasonous israel-first pirate slaves.
remember the uss liberty.
remember the holocaust remember all of the western allies agreed to refuse to accept jewish refugees out of europe after 1929. remember they all pretended they had “no idea” what was going on in germany? remember 6 million people, not one boat load. remember how you hate the truth.
why can’t you grow into the sea like singapore instead of taking other people’s lands.
there’s plenty of sand in israel and i’m sure the arabs will give you plenty of more sand for free so you leave them alone.
morreram mais russos do que judeus. holocausto foi dos russos. que 6 milhões de judeus o que, história da carochinha imbecil.
it’s the world. wake up they had a massacre on bondi beach 15 innocent people at a religious festival. shot to death in broad daylight.
in america that woman in charge of security gave a speech two days ago labelling islam as the greatest threat to america above china even in england the crisis of religious division is getting out of hand too .. the entire middle east is almost at another crusades stage historically except instead of catholics versus moslems, its jews
tudo made in mossad
do you think ursula von der leyen wouldn’t want a gang of uyghurs firing missiles at chinese ships on the syrian coast? but nahyen seems like von der leyen to me, doesn’t she? hts are lying hypocrites and therefore useless, probably even for firing missiles at chinese cargo ships? isis-k could prove to be a key ally for ursula von der leyen and that al nahyan.
would china still consider russia an ally if the uyghurs expelled the alawites from the syrian coast and began firing missiles at chinese ships from there? merz and von der leyen want to exclude china from the european market.
good, i hope those traitors kill each other.
a nova guerra na síria:
turquia e governo sírio x curdos
alauítas x governo sírio
israel e drusos x governo sírio
portanto serão 3 guerras dentro da síria com estes atores uns contra os outros.