Renewed clashes between Syrian insurgents and Kurdish groups have erupted in the province of Aleppo and quickly spread to other cities in northern Syria. Several combatants have been killed in fights between Liwa al-Tawhid and its allies and the Kurdish People’s Defense Units (YPG) since May 25 in the countryside of northern Aleppo, after Syrian rebels accused the Kurdish armed group of supporting the besieged Shiite towns of Nubul and Zahra.
The fighting is leading to worsening conditions for the Kurdish-dominated district of Efrin, where thousands of Arabs and Kurds fled after fighting worsened in Aleppo.
Thomas McGee, a researcher focused on Syrian affairs, told Al-Monitor that prior to the “FSA (Free Syrian Army) siege,” Efrin was already “facing huge problems in accommodating IDPs [displaced persons], especially after the influx from Sheikh Maqsoud [in Aleppo city] when the regime attacked, and the schools and other public buildings that are available are over capacity so people are finding themselves with no shelter at all.”
NGOs fear the fighting could have a negative effect on those who fled and live in Efrin since the FSA surrounded Efrin and besieged it. The prices of bread and medicine have already increased as a result of the FSA embargo.
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