The Syrian government and Kurdish-led forces on Monday ordered their fighters to cease fire following deadly clashes that came as Turkey's top diplomat urged the Kurds to integrate into the Syrian army.

At least three people were killed in the clashes, which came ahead of a deadline for implementing a March 10 agreement between Damascus and the Kurds to integrate the SDF -- which controls vast swathes of Syria's oil-rich northeast -- into the state.

State news agency SANA cited the defence ministry as saying that the Syrian army's general staff had issued "an order to stop targeting the sources of fire".

The US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) meanwhile said they had "issued directives to our forces to cease responding to attacks".

The two sides had earlier traded blame over who started the clashes.

State news agency SANA said on Monday that "two civilians were killed and eight others were wounded in SDF shelling on districts of Aleppo", a city that has witnessed heightened tensions and a previous bout of violence between........

© Al Monitor