The Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces have begun clashing against the pro-Turkish Syrian rebels, Tahrir al-Sham (HST) in the north of Aleppo city. Clashes between Kurdish forces and Syrian rebels have also been reported in the countryside north to Aleppo where both the SDF and the Syrian rebels are making territorial gains against the Syrian government. Meanwhile, another pro-Turkish Syrian rebel group, the Syrian National Army began fighting the Syrian Army and is making territorial gains in the north.
Kurdish forces have entered the northern part of Aleppo city in order to protect Kurdish civilians from reprisals by Islamic militants. Kurdish forces and Syrian rebels have a long-running adversarial relationship. The Syrian rebels, both the pro-Turkish and even the secular groups accuse the Kurds of having sided with the Syrian government in the siege of Aleppo in 2016, and also for having made deals with the Syrian government and the Russian military to secure their autonomous government from attacks by Turkey. On the other hand, the interest of the Kurds is to carve out their own and separate state, something which is opposed both by Turkey and the Syrian government.
Some SDF units have already declared their intention to wage a war to liberate Aleppo from the HTS. However, despite ongoing and sporadic clashes between the SDF and Syrian rebels, both sides remain primarily focused on capturing territory from the Syrian government.
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