Asayish-government clashes in Aleppo leave casualties

Shafaq News – Aleppo (Updated at 19:55)

Clashes between the Kurdish-led Internal Security Forces (Asayish) and governmental security forces in Aleppo wounded security personnel and civilians, Syrian authorities said on Monday.

In a statement, the Syrian Interior Ministry reported that the incident injured one security member and one army soldier, as well as several Civil Defense personnel and civilians, accusing SDF elements stationed at joint checkpoints in the area of “betraying” the governmental Internal Security Forces.

Earlier, the Asayish said five of its members were wounded when a checkpoint came under attack by armed groups it said were affiliated with the Ministry of Defense, without giving details on the assailants or the condition of the injured.

The violence later extended to the outskirts of the Kurdish-majority Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods, Shafaq News correspondent in Syria reported. Snipers linked to the SDF then targeted a Syrian internal security checkpoint near the Shihhan roundabout north of Aleppo, the correspondent explained.

Tensions in the two neighborhoods have flared repeatedly. In October, at least ten people were injured or suffered tear gas inhalation after Syrian government forces allegedly dispersed a protest against road closures leading to Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh, according to the SDF.