📰 Turkey-linked armed groups violate ceasefire in Aleppo – Kurdish official

ALEPPO, Syria (North Press) – A Kurdish official in Aleppo informed North Press on Thursday that armed groups affiliated with Turkey, operating outside effective command and control, are violating the ceasefire and attempting to undermine agreements signed between Damascus and northern Syria. Nuri Sheikho, co-chair of the Kurdish Neighborhoods Council of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh in Aleppo city, stated that these groups have imposed a “severe and unjust blockade” on two Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo, despite being formally affiliated with the Syrian Ministry of Defense of the Syrian transitional administration. Notably, he explained that the groups are not complying with directives issued by the Syrian transitional administration and are deliberately seeking to derail the agreements reached on March 10 and April 1. “Although these agreements serve the interests of the Syrian people, the Syrian government, and the Kurdish neighborhoods of Aleppo, Turkey is working to undermine them,” the official stated.

He noted to a latest visit by a Turkish armed forces, intelligence, and political delegation to Syria, describing it as a “grave mistake” and likening it to treating Syria as if it were a Turkish province. The official stressed the need to approach the current developments “with extreme caution and precision,” warning that renewed crisis would not serve the interests of Syrians. “War is not in the interest of the Syrian people,” he said, adding that any emerging escalation would damage the credibility of the Syrian transitional government in the eyes of the international community. He also pointed out that ongoing incitement against Kurdish neighborhoods on social media and in some official media outlets.

The official verified that the ceasefire currently in place was achieved through international mediation efforts and does not have a defined timeframe. By Mohammed al-Qadi