Heavy fighting has erupted in Aleppo as Syrian government forces clash with Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) after a temporary ceasefire collapsed, triggering one of the city’s worst bouts of violence since Syria’s new authorities took power last year.

The Syrian army moved against the Kurdish-held neighbourhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh after SDF-linked councils rejected a government ultimatum to withdraw.

Officials say more than 160,000 civilians have fled the areas, while the military claims it now controls more than half of Sheikh Maqsoud.

Damascus had declared a six-hour ceasefire on Friday, hoping to enforce an agreement under which Kurdish forces were meant to integrate into the state’s military institutions.

When the deadline passed without a withdrawal, government forces resumed strikes and urged residents to evacuate through designated corridors.

The SDF accused government-aligned forces of targeting civilian infrastructure, including Khaled Fajr Hospital, which Damascus said was being used as a weapons depot.

Both sides traded accusations of war crimes and disinformation as clashes involving artillery, drones and tanks intensified.

At least 22 people have been killed and more than 170 wounded since fighting began on Tuesday, according to local authorities.

The Syrian army said three of its soldiers were killed, while also accusing Kurdish fighters of killing civilians who refused to join them — a claim denied by the SDF.

The violence underscores a deep rift between Damascus and the SDF, which controls large parts of Syria’s oil-rich northeast and has resisted full integration into the central government.

Although an agreement was reached last year, Syrian officials say little progress has been made, particularly over how Kurdish forces — including female fighters — would be absorbed into the army.

Regional and international concern has grown. Turkey, which considers the SDF an extension of the PKK, voiced support for the Syrian government’s operation but has so far refrained from direct military action.

The United Nations, France and other Western powers have urged restraint and a return to negotiations, warning that continued fighting risks further destabilising Syria and alarming minority communities already shaken by recent violence.