The deadliest clashes yet between Syrian government forces and Kurdish SDF fighters erupted Tuesday in northern Aleppo, leaving soldiers, civilians and municipal workers wounded or killed. The SDF denied responsibility for civilian deaths and blamed pro-government factions, while state media blamed the SDF. Hospital reports include a 4-year-old girl, Fatima, who lost an eye; activists say thousands of civilians in Sheikh Maqsoud face heavy, indiscriminate fire. The violence highlights stalled talks to integrate the tens of thousands-strong SDF into Syria’s army under a March deal aimed at completion by end of 2025.
Deadliest Clashes Yet Erupt Between Syrian Forces and Kurdish SDF in Aleppo
Syrian child Fatima al-Zahra Abu Sheikh, 4, lies in a hospital bed after being wounded when clashes broke out between Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters in a contested area of the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
The fiercest fighting so far broke out Tuesday in contested northern districts of Aleppo as Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) clashed, deepening fears for civilians caught between the lines.
Syria’s state-run SANA news agency reported one soldier killed and three wounded in what it called an SDF attack. State television later said three civilians — including two women — were killed and others wounded, among them two children, when shelling struck a residential area it blamed on the SDF. SANA also reported that nine employees of the Aleppo Directorate of Agriculture were injured when shelling hit their office.
A nurse carries, Fatima al-Zahra Abu Sheikh, 4, a Syrian child who was wounded in clashes that broke out between Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters in a contested area of the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
The SDF denied responsibility for the strikes that killed civilians, saying a shell fired by “factions affiliated with the Damascus government” landed in the al-Midan neighborhood and that the intended target had been the adjacent Kurdish area of Sheikh Maqsoud. The SDF described the strikes as indiscriminate attacks on residential areas.
"This indiscriminate shelling constitutes a direct attack on residential areas and exposes the lives of civilians to grave danger," the SDF said in a statement.
The SDF also accused government forces of a drone strike that killed one Sheikh Maqsoud resident and wounded two children, and said separate shelling in the Bani Zaid neighborhood killed a woman and wounded dozens. State media did not report those particular incidents.
Kafaa Abu Sheikh, right, the mother of Syrian girl Fatima al-Zahra, 4, checks on her daughter who was wounded when clashes broke out between Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters in a contested area of the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
At Aleppo’s Al-Razi Hospital, which received some of the wounded, Ahmad Abu Sheikh waited as his 4-year-old daughter, Fatima, remained on the operating table for hours after being hit by shrapnel. He said the child lost an eye.
"I just want to know what can I tell my daughter when I see her? Where did her eye go?" he said.
Civil society activist Afrin Jawan said thousands of civilians in predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods such as Sheikh Maqsoud and Achrafieh are effectively besieged and have been subjected to heavy and medium weapons fire, which he blamed on factions tied to the Ministry of Defense in Damascus. Those neighborhoods have seen intermittent clashes in recent months, with earlier rounds ending in temporary truces.
Ahmad Abu Sheikh, right, waits outside a hospital where his daughter, Fatima al-Zahra, 4, is receiving treatment after she was wounded when clashes broke out between Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters in a contested area of the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Political Context And Integration Talks
The violence comes amid stalled efforts to integrate the SDF — a force numbering in the tens of thousands — into Syria’s national army under a March agreement signed by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa. The deal envisions merging the SDF with the Syrian military by the end of 2025, but officials on both sides disagree on key terms and implementation.
Government and SDF delegations met again in Damascus on Sunday, but government officials said the talks produced no tangible progress. Some units incorporated into the new Syrian army were previously backed by Turkey and have a history of clashes with Kurdish forces, complicating integration and trust between the parties.
Both sides accuse one another of trying to derail the March 10 agreement. Syria’s Defense Ministry said the SDF "does not recognize the March 10 Agreement and is trying to derail it and drag the army into an open battle of its choosing." The SDF, in turn, accused government forces of violating international humanitarian law by deliberately targeting residential neighborhoods and critical infrastructure, including water and electricity.
By Tuesday evening a tense calm briefly returned to parts of the city, but clashes flared again within hours, underscoring the fragility of any cease-fire and the continuing threat to civilian populations.
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