ALEPPO: Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces exchanged fire Tuesday in a tense area of eastern Aleppo province, marking a possible escalation after days of clashes in the northern city.
No casualties were immediately reported, as an impasse continues in negotiations between the central government and the SDF over merging its thousands of fighters into the national army.
The Syrian army earlier declared an area east of Aleppo as a “closed military zone.” Eastern Aleppo province has been a tense frontline dividing areas under the Syrian government and large swaths of northeastern Syria under the SDF.
In a statement, the SDF said government forces have started shelling Deir Hafer district. The group later said government troops launched exploding drones, artillery and rockets to a village south of Deir Hafer.
Syrian state television later said the SDF targeted the village of Homeima on the other side of the Deir Hafer frontline with exploding drones.
