SDF/YPG forces, a US-backed armed organisation that controls eastern Syria, refused on Friday to leave the key Syrian city of Aleppo despite the Syrian government‘s announcement of a ceasefire to allow them to leave the neighbourhoods they occupy in the city, following days of fighting in Aleppo that have left heavy casualties and forced thousands of civilians to flee their homes.
At least 22 people, including several civilians, have been killed since Tuesday as a result of the violence in Aleppo, where the attacks have also forced some 30,000 families to flee, according to UN figures. The fighting comes amid growing tension between the central government in Damascus and the self-styled Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is largely made up of the YPG (the Syrian branch of the PKK), which the Syrian government accuses of failing to implement an agreement signed in early 2025 to integrate SDF members into the new Syrian army.
On Friday, the Syrian Ministry of Defence announced a ceasefire in the operation against the YPG, after the Syrian army announced late yesterday that it had taken control of most of the Ashrafiyeh neighbourhood north of Aleppo, while the Syrian authorities claimed that many SDF/YPG members in the Ashrafiyeh and Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhoods had defected or fled.
The cessation of hostilities came into effect at 3:00 a.m. today, and the fighters were given until 9:00 a.m. Friday (7:00 CET) to leave the three neighbourhoods they occupy in the city. The Aleppo governor said the fighters would be transferred, along with their small arms, to areas in Syria east of the Euphrates River, territories controlled by the SDF/YPG.
“We have decided to stay and continue the defence“
Hours later, however, the local councils of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh announced that the YPG fighters would not withdraw: “We have decided to stay in our districts and defend them“, they declared in a statement, in which they rejected any “surrender“. A government source told Al-Jazeera that the Syrian army is considering a new deadline for SDF/YPG forces to leave the Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhood.
For its part, Turkey confirmed that it is in contact with Washington and Damascus to seek a negotiated solution to the conflict. Security sources said Friday that Ankara expects the SDF/YPG to “avoid damaging Syria’s territorial integrity, political unity and social peace”, and that Turkey’s main objective is to preserve the territorial integrity and centralisation of the Syrian state; they also confirmed that the National Intelligence Organisation is working to minimise the negative effects of the fighting in Aleppo, monitor possible migration flows and ensure the safety of the civilian population.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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