Clashes between Syrian forces and Kurdish fighters fuel unease

A cautious calm spread Tuesday in neighborhoods of Aleppo in northern Syria after overnight clashes between Syrian security forces and Kurdish fighters

A cautious calm spread Tuesday in neighborhoods of Aleppo in northern Syria after overnight clashes between Syrian security forces and Kurdish fighters.

The violence came as tensions grow between the central government in Damascus and Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria.

Syrian state-run news agency SANA reported the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces targeted checkpoints of the Internal Security Forces on Monday evening, killing one and injuring four.

SDF forces fired into residential areas in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Achrafieh neighborhoods of Aleppo “with mortar shells and heavy machine guns” and there were civilian casualties, but it was not clear how many were wounded and killed, SANA reported.

The SDF denied attacking the checkpoints and said its forces withdrew from the area months ago.