A deadly outburst of fighting in Syria’s second largest city, Aleppo, signaled rising tensions between the central government and the Kurdish-led militia that controls much of the country’s northeast.
The northeastern region is one of several dominated by a minority group that has refused to submit to government control in the 10 months since Islamist rebels overthrew the dictator Bashar al-Assad.
At least one government soldier and one civilian were killed on Monday night as Syrian military forces traded fire with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, according to the government news agency, SANA. It was one of the most serious outbreaks of violence between the two sides since the new government came to power.
Gov. Azzam al-Gharib of Aleppo said in a Facebook post that government forces had “no intention of any military escalation” in the area. By Tuesday morning the clashes had stopped, and the Syrian defense minister announced a cease-fire after talks between the two sides.
Even before the clashes in Aleppo, Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Shara, had already come under criticism for his handling of violence in two other regions dominated by other minorities. A new conflict with the Kurdish minority could amplify that criticism as Mr. al-Shara tries to unite and rebuild Syria after 13 years of civil war and decades of brutal authoritarian rule.
Government officials have insisted that their administration should maintain a monopoly of force in the country and have grown impatient with the Kurdish-led forces, which have delayed implementing an agreement to join the government.
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