Syrian government announces ceasefire in Aleppo

Syria's defence ministry announced a ceasefire in several neighbourhoods of Aleppo on Friday after days of deadly clashes with Kurdish fighters.

"To prevent any slide towards a new military escalation within residential neighborhoods, the Ministry of Defence announces ... a ceasefire in the vicinity of the Sheikh Maqsoud, Alashrafieh, and Bani Zeid neighbourhoods of Aleppo, effective from 3:00 am," the ministry wrote in a statement. 

Syrian government forces have been fighting the Kurdish-led SDF force in Aleppo, where at least 21 people have been killed in several days of clashes. 

Both sides have traded blame over who started the clashes on Tuesday, which comes as implementation stalls on a deal to merge the Kurds' administration and military into the government.

The worst violence in Aleppo since Syria's post-Assad authorities took power has also highlighted regional tensions between Damascus ally Turkey and Israel, which condemned what it described as attacks against the Kurds.