Syria’s government demands that Kurdish fighters leave the neighborhoods they control in Aleppo following clashes between the two sides, which saw thousands of civilians flee.
The Syrian government and Kurdish-led forces traded blame over who started the deadly clashes on Tuesday, which killed 16 civilians and one defense ministry member.
The violence comes as the two sides have so far failed to implement a March deal to merge the Kurds’ semi-autonomous administration and military into Syria’s new Islamist government.
In a statement, the government expresses its “demand for the withdrawal of armed groups from the Sheikh Maqsud and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods.”
The Syrian military shelled the neighborhoods after declaring them “closed military zones” from 12:00 p.m. GMT. An AFP correspondent reports that the intensity of the bombardment was decreasing by the evening, but tanks and soldiers remained deployed around the areas.
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