Updated by Faith Barbara N Ruhinda at 2059 EAT on Monday 22 December 2025

Clashes have been reported between the Syrian army and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Aleppo, as high-level talks continue over the integration of the SDF into Syria’s state institutions.

Syria’s state-run SANA news agency said on Monday that SDF fighters launched attacks on Syrian security force positions near the Sheihan and Lairmoun roundabouts in the city.

The Gaziantep–Aleppo road was closed near the Lairmoun and Sheihan roundabouts after coming under fire from the SDF, the agency said.

The Syrian Civil Defence said two of its rescuers were wounded when their vehicle was fired upon while responding to the incident.

“The vehicle was clearly marked with the Civil Defence insignia,” the group said, adding that the injured rescuers were taken to hospital.

The violence comes as Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan visited Damascus for talks with Syrian officials on integrating the SDF into Syria’s new army, ahead of a looming deadline.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who assumed power after the ouster of longtime leader Bashar al-Assad in December, signed a deal with the SDF in March to fold the group into state institutions.

However, the agreement left key details unresolved, and its implementation has stalled.

Damascus had previously proposed merging the roughly 50,000 SDF fighters into three divisions under partial Syrian government control.

“The Turks were strongly opposed to this and insisted on dismantling the SDF’s existing command structure,” Oghanna said.

The US-backed SDF has controlled a large swath of territory in northeastern Syria since 2015.

“The integration of the SDF into Syrian government forces is probably the most combustible issue in Syria today,” Oghanna added. “It is a major flashpoint and poses a serious threat to the country’s national unity.”

A key sticking point has been whether the SDF would remain intact as a cohesive force within the new Syrian army or be dissolved, with its fighters individually absorbed into the military.

Turkiye, which considers the SDF a “terrorist” organisation because of its links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), has opposed allowing the group to join as a single unit.

Kurdish officials say a preliminary understanding has been reached to integrate three SDF-affiliated divisions as units within the new army, though it remains unclear how close the sides are to finalising the arrangement.

The original deadline for implementing the March agreement was the end of the year, raising fears of a military confrontation if progress is not made by then.

Speaking alongside Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Monday, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani said the government had not seen “an initiative or a serious will” from the SDF to implement the integration deal.

“There has been systematic procrastination,” al-Shibani said.

According to Aljazeera, He added that Damascus had submitted a proposal to the SDF on advancing the military merger and received a response on Sunday, which is now under review.

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