Syrian army claims control of Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsud; Kurdish forces reject assertion

Syria’s army on Saturday said it had completed a security sweep of Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsud district following clashes with Kurdish forces, a claim the Kurds rejected as false even as fighting continued in the area.

Government forces began striking Sheikh Maqsud overnight after a deadline for Kurdish fighters to withdraw expired during a ceasefire. AFP correspondents reported that gunfire continued into the morning in the district, the last part of Aleppo still held by Kurdish forces.

In a statement, the army announced the “completion of a full security sweep of the Sheikh Maqsud neighbourhood”, while urging residents to remain inside their homes due to what it said was the continued presence of Kurdish fighters. A military source earlier told state-run SANA that “a number of SDF members” had been arrested during the operation.

Kurdish forces, however, denied losing control of the district, calling government claims “false and misleading”. They said street fighting was ongoing with what they described as “government militias” and accused Syrian forces of “systematic criminal conduct aimed at spreading terror” through artillery fire.

The defence ministry issued a separate statement calling on “armed elements” to “surrender themselves and their weapons immediately”.

The fighting in Syria’s second-largest city erupted after talks to integrate the Kurds’ de facto autonomous administration and military forces into the country’s new government stalled. Since clashes began on Tuesday, at least 21 civilians have been killed, according to figures cited by both sides, and tens of thousands of residents have fled Aleppo.

The violence is among the most intense since Syria’s new Islamist authorities took power following the ouster of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. Both sides have accused the other of triggering the fighting.

Syrian authorities on Friday announced a limited window for Kurdish fighters to leave Sheikh Maqsud, but the offer was rejected. The army warned it would resume strikes on military targets and urged civilians to leave before security forces moved in. AFP journalists witnessed residents fleeing the area carrying their belongings.

Kurdish forces said they were facing artillery and drone attacks and claimed on social media they were mounting a “fierce and ongoing resistance”. The army said three soldiers had been killed by Kurdish fighters, while state television accused the Kurds of launching drones at residential areas in Aleppo. Authorities also extended a suspension of flights at Aleppo airport until late Saturday.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces control large parts of Syria’s oil-rich north and northeast and played a key role in the 2019 defeat of the Islamic State group. Turkey, a close ally of Syria’s new leadership, considers the SDF’s main component an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which agreed last year to end its decades-long armed campaign against Ankara. Turkey has repeatedly launched military operations to push Kurdish forces away from its border.

Elham Ahmad, a senior official in the Kurdish administration in northeast Syria, accused Damascus of “choosing the path of war” by attacking Kurdish districts and of “seeking to put an end to the agreements that have been reached”.

“We are committed to them and we are seeking to implement them,” she told AFP.

A March integration agreement between the sides was meant to be implemented last year, but progress stalled amid disagreements, including Kurdish demands for decentralised governance. Ahmad said “the United States is playing a mediating role... we hope they will apply pressure to reach an agreement”.

US envoy Tom Barrack said on Saturday that he had discussed the situation with Jordan’s foreign minister, with both expressing support for “consolidating the ceasefire, ensuring the peaceful withdrawal of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from Aleppo, and guaranteeing” civilian safety. They also called for the implementation of the integration agreement.

The United Nations voiced concern over the impact of the fighting on civilians. UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said all parties should “swiftly return to negotiations”.

Nanar Hawach, a senior Syria analyst at the International Crisis Group, said the renewed clashes raised doubts about the government’s ability to reunify the country after 14 years of civil war.

“If the fighting escalates, international actors will wonder about Damascus’s capacity to govern Syria’s heterogeneous society,” he said.

Syrian authorities have pledged to protect minority communities, but sectarian violence last year affected Alawite and Druze areas across the country.