Clashes flare as top Turkish officials visit Syria ahead of a deadline for Kurdish integration

DAMASCUS, Syria — Clashes erupted between Syrian security forces and Kurdish fighters on Monday as top Turkish officials visited Damascus ahead of a deadline to implement a deal between the government and Kurdish-led forces in the country’s northeast.

Syria’s state-run SANA news agency reported that two civilians were killed and 15 were wounded by shelling, and that dozens of families fled two neighborhoods of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, which has seen previous outbreaks of violence.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, said 17 people were wounded and a woman was killed. The conflicting casualty reports could not immediately be reconciled.

Late on Monday evening, the Syrian defense ministry announced an order to halt fire, and SDF then did the same, citing “ongoing de-escalation efforts.”

It was not immediately clear how the new clashes in Aleppo's Sheikh Maqsoud and Achrafieh neighborhoods started. Syria’s Civil Defense agency said two of its emergency responders were wounded after fighters with the Kurdish-led SDF opened fire on their vehicle.

A statement from the Kurdish-led forces accused Syrian government forces of opening fire on a Kurdish checkpoint, while government officials accused the SDF of attacking first.

In Damascus, the Syrian capital, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said his talks with Syrian officials focused on the integration of the SDF into the new Syrian army, as well as on Israel’s military incursions in southern Syria and the fight against the Islamic State group.

“Syria’s stability means Turkey’s stability. This is extremely important for us,” he said, appearing alongside his Syrian counterpart, Asaad al-Shibani. He called on the SDF to “cease to be an obstacle to Syria achieving stability, unity and prosperity.”

Fidan's delegation, which also included Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler and intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, also met with Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa.

The integration deal faces obstacles

Under the March agreement signed between al-Sharaa’s government and the SDF, the Kurdish-led force was to merge with the new Syrian army, but details were left vague and implementation has stalled.

A major sticking point had been whether the SDF would remain as a cohesive unit in the new army or whether it would be dissolved and its members individually absorbed into the new military.

Turkey has been opposed to the SDF joining as a single unit. Ankara considers the SDF as a terrorist organization because of its association with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has waged a long-running insurgency in Turkey, although a peace process is now underway.

Kurdish officials have said that a preliminary agreement has been reached to allow three divisions affiliated with the SDF to integrate as units into the new army, but it's unclear how close the sides are to finalizing it. The original deadline for implementation of the March deal was the end of the year, and there have been fears of a military confrontation if progress is not made by then.

Al-Shibani, the Syrian foreign minister, accused the SDF of "systematic procrastination.”

“We have not seen an initiative or a serious will from the Syrian Democratic Forces to implement this agreement," he said, adding that Damascus had submitted a proposal to the SDF for moving forward with the military merger.

He said a response was received on Sunday, without elaborating.

Turkey slams Israel's presence in Syria

Fidan criticized Israel’s “expansionist policies” in Syria and accused the SDF of coordinating with Israel, without giving evidence. Israel has been wary of new authorities in Syria since the fall of former President Bashar Assad in December 2024.

Although al-Sharaa, the former leader of an Islamist insurgent group, has said he does not want a conflict with Israel, Israeli forces have moved to seize a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone in southern Syria and have launched hundreds of airstrikes on Syrian military sites.

While Turkey had a complicated relationship with al-Sharaa when he was the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a militant group that controlled much of northwestern Syria, Ankara has backed his government since he led a charge that overthrew Assad.

Turkey, along with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, has intervened to persuade U.S. President Donald Trump to lift decades-old sanctions on Syria. The Turkish military has also provided support to the new Syrian army, including training cadets and officers.

Asked about the possibility of a Turkish intervention against the SDF in Syria, Omer Celik, spokesman for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party, told reporters at a new conference last Friday that Turkey’s military has preparations in place to ensure Turkey’s security.

But, he added: “We don’t want this to be necessary.”

“The agreement’s provision must be implemented quickly," he said, and "in the coming period, we should focus our energy on Turks, Kurds, and Arabs living together in prosperity and peace.”