JERUSALEM, Jan 8: Israel on Thursday condemned the Syrian government over what it described as attacks against the Kurdish community in Aleppo, just days after the two sides agreed to establish a joint mechanism aimed at lowering bilateral tensions.
"Attacks by the Syrian regime's forces against the Kurdish minority in the city of Aleppo -- are grave and dangerous...
Systematic and murderous repression of Syria's various minorities contradicts the promises of a 'new Syria'," Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on X.
Deadly clashes erupted this week between Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters as the two sides have so far failed to implement a March deal to merge the Kurds' semi-autonomous administration and military into Syria's new Islamist government.
The Kurds are pushing for decentralised rule, an idea which Syria's new authorities have rejected.
Despite assurances from Damascus that all of Syria's communities will be protected, minorities remain wary of their future under the new authorities.
Saar said the violence in Aleppo could increase if the international community remained silent.
"The international community in general, and the West in particular, owes a debt of honour to the Kurds who fought bravely and successfully against ISIS," Saar said.
Meanwhile, Syria's military warned civilians in two besieged Kurdish neighbourhoods in the city of Aleppo to leave on Thursday, as it prepared to conduct a fresh wave of strikes targeting Kurdish positions.
Thousands have already fled the area following clashes between the army and Kurdish-led forces that have killed more than a dozen people.
The violence comes as the two sides struggle to implement a March deal to merge a semi-autonomous administration and military run by the Kurds in Syria's north into the country's new Islamist government. �"AFP
