Syria's Kurds protest Aleppo violence as fears of wider conflict grow

Several thousand people marched under the rain in northeast Syria on Tuesday to protest the expulsion of Kurdish fighters from the city of Aleppo after days of deadly clashes.



The violence in Aleppo has deepened one of the main faultlines in Syria, where President Ahmed al-Sharaa's promise to unify the country under one leadership after 14 years of war has faced resistance from Kurdish forces wary of his Islamist-led government.



Five days of fighting last week left at least 23 people dead, according to Syria's health ministry, and saw more than 150,000 flee the two Kurdish-run pockets of the city. Syrian Kurdish official Ilham Ahmad told reporters on Tuesday that 48 people were killed in government attacks. Reuters could not determine whether the two tolls overlapped.



On Tuesday, several thousand Syrian Kurds protested in the northeastern city of Qamishli. They carried banners bearing the logos of Kurdish forces and faces of Kurdish fighters who died in the battles - some of whom had detonated explosive-laden belts as government forces closed in.