Autonomy or war. Why do the Kurds not want to give up Aleppo?

Kurdish forces in Aleppo on Friday rejected a ceasefire proposal previously announced by Syria's Defense Ministry. In a statement, the Kurds stressed that they would not abandon their positions, as assumed in the government's proposal, and would continue to defend them.

The fighting that has been going on for three days is another episode of the long conflict between the authorities in Damascus and the Kurdish forces. At least nine civilians were killed in the fighting, and over 140,000 were injured. had to flee from their homes, Reuters reported.

Before the Ministry of Defense announced that it would give armed groups six hours to leave the disputed areas, there was a fierce exchange of fire there late into the night, and rescuers were fighting fires caused by the shelling.

After the Kurds from Aleppo rejected the government's proposal, their representative assured in an interview with AFP that the Kurdish forces wanted to maintain the arrangements already concluded with the authorities in Damascus. At the same time, she accused the government of trying to break these agreements and choosing the war path.

On Thursday, the Syrian army gave residents time to evacuate districts of Aleppo controlled by Kurdish forces before launching new attacks and announced a curfew in Sheikh Maksud and Ashrafia from 10 p.m. 15 (1 p.m. Polish time). Kurdish forces reported that they had repelled attacks by Syrian troops.

As assessed by Reuters, the clashes between government troops and Kurdish forces who oppose integration with the central government pose a serious challenge to Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara, who has pledged to reunite the country after 14 years of civil war.

The clashes are the result of growing tension in Syria after the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024 by forces originating from Islamist groups. Although an agreement was reached in March 2025 to incorporate the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into the new Syrian army, the process has stalled. The issue of state decentralization remains a bone of contention – the Kurds demand autonomy, which is firmly rejected by the new authorities. (PAP)

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