Violent clashes with heavy weapons erupted on Monday between the Syrian army and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) around the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods of Aleppo city, resulting in deaths and injuries among security personnel and civilians.
The clashes closed roads leading to the aforementioned neighborhoods, amid efforts to secure the evacuation of a number of families from the area.
The Syrian Ministry of Defense's Media and Communications Department reported that the army's movements are part of a plan to redeploy in northern and northeastern Syria, in response to "repeated attacks" by the SDF, led by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), targeting civilians and army and security forces.
The ministry affirmed its commitment to the March 10 agreement, denying any intention of military operations and stating that the army seeks to protect civilians and their property from SDF attacks.
An official Syrian source told Al Jazeera that three members of the security forces were killed and others wounded in SDF shelling of residential neighborhoods in Aleppo.
For his part, an Al Jazeera Net correspondent reported that Bahaa al-Halabi, a correspondent for the Syria Now channel, was injured in the waist by gunfire and shelling from the SDF in Kurdish neighborhoods.
Official government sources also confirmed that civilians were injured near the al-Awarid Bridge as a result of heavy machine gun fire.
A Syrian army military source, who requested anonymity, told Al Jazeera Net that heavy machinery had been mobilized to retake the SDF-controlled neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh, in response to the repeated attacks.
He added that the SDF warned that any army entry into these neighborhoods would nullify the March 10 agreement between President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Mazloum Abdi.
Tensions continue in the area amid fears of a military escalation that could threaten the stability of the city and the security of its residents.
Al Jazeera, Zaman Al Wasl
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