Syrian army tells Kurdish forces to withdraw from area east of Aleppo city

Syria’s army told Kurdish forces on Tuesday to withdraw from an area they control east of Aleppo after dislodging fighters from two neighbourhoods in the city in deadly clashes last week.

State television published an army statement with a map declaring a large area a “closed military zone” and said “all armed groups in this area must withdraw to east of the Euphrates River.

The area begins near Deir Hafer, around 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of Aleppo city and extends to the Euphrates further east, as well as towards the south.

On Monday, Syria accused the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces of sending reinforcements to Deir Hafer and said it sent its own personnel there in response.

The SDF denied any build-up of its forces in the region.

An AFP correspondent saw government forces bringing military reinforcements including artillery to the Deir Hafer area on Tuesday.

On the weekend, Syria’s government took full control of Aleppo city after taking over its Kurdish neighbourhoods and evacuating fighters there to Kurdish-controlled areas in the country’s northeast following days of clashes.

The violence started last Tuesday after negotiations stalled on integrating the Kurds’ de facto autonomous administration and forces into the country’s new government.

The SDF controls swathes of the country’s oil-rich north and northeast, much of which they captured during Syria’s civil war and the fight against the Islamic State group.