International concern has once again been raised over intensified fighting this week between Syrian government forces and the SDF Kurds in and around the strategic port of Aleppo.
Following today's Damascus announcement of a ceasefire, brokered by the Americans, who are supporting the SDF, after more than 20 people were killed and dozens of thousands fled the area, the Kurds are refusing to leave the city.
According to UN observers, more than 30 thousand families have now abandoned Aleppo, once again becoming internally displaced.
The Kurds are controlling large areas of the oil-rich Syrian north and northeast and were key in the defeat of the barbaric Islamic State in 2019.
'In order to prevent further military escalation in residential areas, the Syrian defence ministry is announcing a ceasefire in Aleppo', a government communique said.
Kurdish fighters were given a deadline of nine this morning to leave the three Aleppo neighbourhoods that they currently control and promised free passage, with weapons, further east.|
But the Kurdish political councils in the city have made the decision to 'stay and defend our regions', rejecting 'surrender'.
The US welcomed the ceasefire on X, hoping for a 'more lasting peace and deeper dialogue', adding that they were working intensively to extend the ceasefire and spirit of understanding to other areas too.
Now Erdogan's Turkey, seeking a much more wide ranging power role in Syria, has launched large scale attacks against Kurds trying to drive them off the 900 kilometre long border.
Aleppo is where the SDF is most vulnerable said Aaron Lund, a Century International researcher. He warned that if the situation spirals into a full scale Damascus-SDF conflict across northern Syria, this could turn catastrophic for the country's stability.
Additionally, Israel is mulling further involvement as it tries to impose more influence after the fall of pro-Iranian Alawite Bashar Al Assad.
Meanwhile, European Council President Antonio Costa and EC President Ursula Von Der Layen met with transitional President Al Sharaa in Damascus, saying 'they were hopeful for the future of the Syrian people'.
SOURCE-ATHENS NEWS AGENCY