New deadly clashes between Syrian forces and Kurdish fighters erupt in Aleppo

ALEPPO, Syria (AP) — The deadliest clashes so far broke out Tuesday between Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters in a contested area of the northern city of Aleppo, as efforts to merge the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces with the national army have shown little progress.

Syria ’s state-run SANA news agency said a soldier was killed and three others were wounded in an attack by the SDF. State TV later reported that three civilians, including two women, were killed and others were wounded, including two children, in shelling of a residential area that it blamed on the SDF. SANA also said nine Aleppo Directorate of Agriculture employees were wounded by SDF shelling that hit its office.

The SDF in a statement denied being behind the shelling that killed the civilians and said a shell launched by “factions affiliated with the Damascus government” landed in the al-Midan neighborhood. The SDF claimed the target was the adjacent Kurdish Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood.

“This indiscriminate shelling constitutes a direct attack on residential areas and exposes the lives of civilians to grave danger,” it said.

The SDF also said a drone strike launched by government forces killed one resident of Sheikh Maqsoud and wounded two children, and that shelling in the nearby Bani Zaid neighborhood killed a woman and wounded dozens. There was no mention of those incidents in state media.

At Aleppo's Al-Razi Hospital, which received some of the wounded, Ahmad Abu Sheikh was waiting to see his 4-year-old daughter, Fatima, who was on the operating table for hours after being hit by shrapnel from a shell. He said she lost her eye.

“I just want to know what can I tell my daughter when I see her? Where did her eye go?” he said.

Afrin Jawan, a civil society activist in Sheikh Maqsoud, said in a message that thousands of civilians were besieged in Kurdish neighborhoods "and subjected to indiscriminate shelling with all types of heavy and medium weapons ... by factions affiliated with the Ministry of Defense in Damascus.”

The predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Achrafieh in Aleppo have seen intermittent clashes in recent months. Previous rounds of fighting ended with truce agreements.

By Tuesday evening, a tense calm had returned, but clashes flared up again within hours.

The SDF has tens of thousands of fighters and is the main force to be absorbed into Syria’s military.

The leadership in Damascus under interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa signed a deal in March with the SDF, which controls much of the northeast, for it to merge with the Syrian army by the end of 2025. There have been disagreements on how it would happen. In April, scores of SDF fighters left Sheikh Maqsoud and Achrafieh as part of the deal.

Officials from the central government and SDF met again Sunday in Damascus, but government officials said no tangible progress had been made.

Some of the factions that make up the new Syrian army, formed after the fall of former President Bashar Assad in a rebel offensive in December 2024, were previously Turkish-backed insurgent groups that have a long history of clashing with Kurdish forces.

The SDF for years has been the main U.S. partner in Syria in fighting against the Islamic State group, but Turkey considers the SDF a terrorist organization because of its association with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has waged a long-running insurgency in Turkey. A peace process is now underway.

The SDF and Syria's government have accused each other of seeking to derail the March agreement.

“The SDF organization once again proves that it does not recognize the March 10 Agreement and is trying to derail it and drag the army into an open battle of its choosing,” Syria's Defense Ministry said in a statement Tuesday.

The SDF said government forces had committed a “blatant violation of international humanitarian law” by targeting residential neighborhoods. It called the attacks "planned and deliberate, systematically targeting infrastructure and essential services, including water and electricity.”

Syrian man Mohammed Ajam, weeps at a hospital after his son, Ghaith, 4, died after clashes broke out between Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters in a contested area of the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)

Ahmad Abu Sheikh, right, waits outside a hospital where his daughter, Fatima al-Zahra, 4, is receiving treatment after she was wounded when clashes broke out between Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters in a contested area of the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)

Kafaa Abu Sheikh, right, the mother of Syrian girl Fatima al-Zahra, 4, checks on her daughter who was wounded when clashes broke out between Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters in a contested area of the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)

A nurse carries, Fatima al-Zahra Abu Sheikh, 4, a Syrian child who was wounded in clashes that broke out between Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters in a contested area of the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)

Syrian child Fatima al-Zahra Abu Sheikh, 4, lies in a hospital bed after being wounded when clashes broke out between Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters in a contested area of the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)

SCARBOROUGH, Maine (AP) — Messy winter weather brought snow, ice, freezing rain and dangerous driving to the New England states on Wednesday as the region prepared for more unpleasant conditions later in the week.

The combination of rain, snow and slush blanketed the region, causing dozens of school districts to close for the day or begin on a delay. Snow accumulations were not expected to be high, but the road conditions made it unsafe to roll buses on Wednesday morning, districts said.

About a tenth of an inch of ice coated some areas — a little less than the amount that can cause power outages from falling tree limbs, but more than enough to create unsafe roads. Nonetheless, there were a few thousand power outages, mostly in Maine, with several hundred in Massachusetts.

“With icy conditions forecast during both the morning and afternoon bus routes, ensuring the safety of our students and staff is our highest priority,” said the administration of Maine Regional School Unit 21, based in Kennebunk, in a statement.

All six New England states were under National Weather Service winter weather advisories, and the service issued several hazardous weather outlook statements for northern areas that could be hit with winter storms in the coming days. The possibility of hard rain followed by dropping temperatures could create treacherous driving conditions later in the week, the service said.

Highway authorities in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts reported numerous traffic crashes and vehicle spinouts in those states, though there were no serious injuries reported as of late Wednesday morning. At least five New England airports, including Logan International Airport in Boston, had aircraft being treated with deicing fluid for snow and ice.

In southern Maine, the National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory despite the potential for only two inches of snow in some areas, said Jerry Combs, meteorologist with the service in Gray, Maine. And more hazardous weather could be on the way, as another system is expected to bring rain Friday night into Saturday, followed by the potential for snow Saturday into Sunday, he said.

The service typically holds off on issuing an advisory unless there is the potential for four inches of snow, but other kinds of messy weather necessitated it on Wednesday, Combs said.

“That was for the freezing rain and sleet and snow mixture,” he said. “That makes the road conditions that much worse.”

Associated Press writer Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this report.

Bus driver Jackie Terry builds a snow sculpture for her students to enjoy along their bus route on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026 in Vergennes, Vt. (AP Photo/Amanda Swinhart)

Richard Hill shovels his driveway on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026 in Vergennes, Vt. (AP Photo/Amanda Swinhart)

Bus driver Jackie Terry builds a snow sculpture for her students to enjoy along their bus route on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026 in Vergennes, Vt. (AP Photo/Amanda Swinhart)

Richard Hill shovels the sidewalk outside his home on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026 in Vergennes, Vt. (AP Photo/Amanda Swinhart)