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3. Syria Army Warns Will Strike Kurdish District of Aleppo: State Media

Syria's army warned on Friday it would renew attacks against a Kurdish-majority district of Aleppo and urged residents to evacuate, state media reported, hours after a ceasefire was announced.

The army said it would target military sites used by Kurdish fighters in the Sheikh Maqsud district, in statements published by state news agency SANA accompanied by maps showing the areas, after Kurdish fighters rejected a call to leave.

It also announced the opening of a humanitarian corridor from 4:00 pm (1300 GMT) to 6:00 pm for civilians to leave and called on Kurdish fighters to lay down their arms.

An AFP correspondent near Sheikh Maqsud said residents were fleeing the neighbourhood.

In a statement, Kurdish security forces in Aleppo said that "armed factions affiliated with the Damascus government... carried out two attempted incursions" into Sheikh Maqsud "with direct support from tanks and heavy weapons".

It said its forces repelled the attack, adding that the district "continues to be subjected to ongoing artillery shelling for the fourth consecutive day".

The government and Kurdish forces have traded blame over who started the fighting on Tuesday, which came as they struggled to implement a deal reached last March to merge the Kurds' administration and military into the country's new government.

Tens of thousands have fled the fighting, which has killed at least 21 people.

AFP