Syria Risks a New War as Damascus Moves Against the Kurdish-Led SDF

War looms amid intensifying clashes between government troops and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the country’s second-largest city, Aleppo. On January 7, Syrian army units encircled the SDF-held Kurdish-majority neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh, declaring them closed military zones and ordering civilians to stay away. The SDF claims government forces killed 12 civilians in the two neighborhoods. The government claims that SDF shelling of residential areas in Aleppo killed nine civilians.

This escalation is unlike past one-day flare-ups. Fighting has continued for three days, and the government’s stated goal of expelling the SDF from Aleppo’s Kurdish neighborhoods suggests the conflict is likely to expand to other contested areas, especially after the collapse of the March integration agreement, which aimed to fold the SDF into the Syrian state by the end of 2025.  

Both Parties Have Failed To Implement Their March Agreement

The SDF, which controls roughly 30 percent of Syria’s territory, including much of the country’s natural resources in the northeast, had agreed to integrate into the Syrian army under President Ahmad al-Sharaa. Persistent disputes between the SDF and the army prevented the deal from being implemented by its December 31 deadline. The March agreement went beyond military integration, encompassing political inclusion and the incorporation of civilian institutions in northeast Syria into the central government. The deal was derailed by the new Syrian government’s centralization of power, recurring clashes between the two sides, and a failure to reach an agreement on how to integrate the two militaries. SDF leaders insist that their troops be allowed to join as whole units, not individuals, which would preserve a degree of SDF autonomy.

The SDF fears that the central government won’t be able to — or be interested in — protecting the Kurdish minority and points to two sectarian massacres in 2025 as proof.

Government Moves in Aleppo Mean the Clashes May Spread

Unlike the main, contiguous SDF-held areas in northeast Syria, the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods are isolated enclaves surrounded by Syrian government-controlled territory. The SDF and the Syrian government agreed in April 2025 to allow the SDF-affiliated Internal Security Forces (Asayish) to remain in the two neighborhoods to protect the local Kurdish community.

Since then, repeated flare-ups have raised tensions, but most were resolved within 24 hours.

On January 8, government forces entered the Ashrafiyeh neighborhood and claimed operational control over the area. The government subsequently issued an order demanding that SDF fighters withdraw from the neighborhoods, stating they would be “permitted to carry their personal weapons” and be transported to SDF-held areas in northeastern Syria. In response, the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh Neighborhood People’s Assembly, a local council affiliated with the SDF, declared, “We have decided to stay in our neighborhoods and protect them.” This will likely mean the continuation of clashes between government forces and SDF fighters in Aleppo. These clashes could easily spread to other flashpoints between the two sides, including the contested province of Deir Ezzour, the Raqqa countryside, and eastern Aleppo’s countryside.

An SDF-Damascus Conflict Runs Counter to U.S. Stability and Counterterrorism Interests

If fighting between Damascus and the SDF widens, Syria could slip back into the type of instability that enabled Iran to entrench itself and undermine hard-won U.S. gains against the Islamic State (ISIS). Washington, which has served as the primary mediator between the two sides, should encourage both to return to negotiations to revive the integration agreement.

The United States should make clear to the Syrian government that, despite the sanctions relief that has already been provided, the peaceful integration of the SDF remains a U.S. expectation tied to that relief. At the same time, Washington should be prepared to use its existing sanctions authorities, including Executive Order 13894, to target entities that threaten Syria’s peace, security, stability, or territorial integrity and risk dragging the country back into conflict.

Ahmad Sharawi is a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). For more analysis from Ahmad and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow Ahmad on X @AhmadA_Sharawi. Follow FDD on X @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.