ALEPPO, Syria: The Syrian army said it would push into the last Kurdish-held district of Aleppo ​city on Friday after Kurdish groups there rejected a government demand for their fighters to withdraw under a ceasefire deal.

The violence in Aleppo has brought into focus one of the main faultlines in Syria as the country tries to rebuild after a devastating war, with Kurdish forces resisting efforts by President Ahmed Al-Sharaa’s Islamist-led government to bring their fighters under centralized authority.

At least nine civilians have been killed and more than 140,000 have fled their homes in Aleppo, where Kurdish forces are trying to cling on to several neighborhoods they have run since the early days of the war, which began in 2011.

• Standoff pits government against Kurdish forces

• Sharaa says Kurds are ‘fundamental’ part of Syria