Aleppo Ceasefire Crumbles Amid Accusations of War Crimes

A fragile truce in the Syrian city of Aleppo has collapsed, leading to renewed heavy fighting and a wave of mutual accusations of war crimes between the Syrian government and a U.S.-backed Kurdish-led force. The violence has displaced thousands of civilians and drawn international concern.

The Syrian Arab Army and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are trading blame for the escalation, which centers on the predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh. Syrian government ministers have accused the SDF of launching hundreds of attacks on civilian infrastructure, including a hospital, using drones, and shelling residential areas [43615][46798][46803][32570]. They further allege the militia uses civilians as "human shields" [45948][46371].

Conversely, Kurdish officials have called for an international investigation into alleged war crimes by Syrian government forces, including kidnappings, executions, and the mutilation of corpses in the same districts [48344]. A U.S. senator has also separately condemned the Syrian army for alleged atrocities against Kurdish civilians in Aleppo [49436].

The fighting shatters a period of relative calm and directly threatens the "March 10 Agreement," a local ceasefire deal intended to ease hostilities [32570][44512]. Syrian officials accuse the SDF of violating this and other key agreements [46613]. In response, the Syrian army has vowed to "liberate" the contested Aleppo districts from the SDF, raising the risk of a prolonged, direct conflict between the two sides [43859].

The SDF, a key U.S. ally in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS), has not responded to most of the recent allegations. The United States has reportedly stepped in to mediate a new ceasefire, but the deep mistrust and severe accusations from both sides complicate diplomatic efforts [44512]. The stalemate is deepening, threatening to unravel stability in northern Syria and cause further civilian suffering.