The Syrian foreign ministry on Saturday said its latest operation in Kurdish-majority quarters of Aleppo does not entail a demographic change.

In a lengthy statement, the ministry explained why it carried out what it described as a “limited and targeted law-enforcement operation” in Aleppo’s Kurdish-majority neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafiyeh, which began on Tuesday. The Syrian Arab Army on Saturday announced the conclusion of the operation and the full control of the quarters, but Kurdish forces still holding parts of the area say fighting is continuing.

Nearly half a million people lived in the neighborhoods before the military campaign began, according to a recent figure released by Kurdish authorities, but dozens of thousands have been displaced due to the ongoing violence. The United Nations has warned that the fighting has limited the flow of aid to the area. 

 

The Syrian Arab Army has announced the end of its operation in Aleppo’s predominantly Kurdish neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsood, effective from 3 p.m.

The Syrian Arab Army announced that all Kurdish fighters currently stationed at Yassin Hospital will be transferred to the city of Tabqa, which is under the control of SDF, and their weapons will be confiscated.

The Army says they will "begin returning all health and government facilities to state institutions and will gradually withdraw from the streets of the Sheikh Maqsood neighborhood," according to state-run SANA.

 

Kurdish fighters will withdraw from Aleppo’s Ashrafiyah and Sheikh Maqsood neighborhoods only under “genuine guarantees” from the United States and France, the Erbil-based representative of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) told Rudaw.

The SDC is the political wing of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

“For the withdrawal of our forces, we need genuine guarantees from the US and France,” said Hoshang Darwesh. “Those guarantees must include a constitution and a mechanism for state administration. There must be a decentralized Syria in which the rights of Kurds and all other components are guaranteed.”

Darwesh said more than 42,000 militants backed by Syria’s transitional government have been deployed to attack Kurdish neighborhoods.

“The force used by the Syrian Arab Army is enough to fight other countries, let alone two neighborhoods,” he said.

He added that heavy weapons, including tanks and artillery, are being used in attacks on Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafiyah.

The SDC official stressed that, according to an April 1 agreement, the Syrian Democratic Forces have “no forces” stationed in Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafiyah, and that only internal security forces affiliated with the autonomous administration are safeguarding the two neighborhoods.

Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa has said that the Kurds are a key Syrian community and will be protected.

“This is just talk, and we need action,” Darwesh said.

According to Darwesh, if the fighting continues in Sheikh Maqsood, it will take much longer to come to an end.

“Sheikh Maqsood is different from Ashrafiyah,” he said. “It is unique, where alley-to-alley fighting could take place. In some areas, tanks cannot be used because of the narrow streets, and there are very few access roads to the neighborhood.”

Elham Ahmad, co-chair of Northeast Syria’s (Rojava) Foreign Affairs, said on Saturday that Khaled Hospital in the Sheikh Maqsood neighborhood had been "deliberately" targeted by armed groups aligned with Damascus.

She stated that the hospital, which is sheltering hundreds of wounded civilians and Internal Security Forces personnel, was specifically targeted.

Ahmad called on the United Nations to intervene urgently.

"We call on UN organizations to act immediately to evacuate those inside and prevent a massacre of the wounded," she said. "We hold the government fully responsible for this attack."

 

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Fighting has resumed between Kurdish security forces and armed factions aligned with Damascus in and around the predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafiyah in Syria's northern city of Aleppo, despite regional and international efforts to end the five-day-long conflict.

The Syrian Arab Army claimed it had fully taken control of Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsood neighborhood in a statement released on Saturday.

The Kurdish administration in northeast Syria (Rojava) immediately dismissed these claims, stating that clashes were still ongoing.

Well-placed sources on the ground confirmed to Rudaw that Damascus-affiliated forces have entered Khaled Fajar Hospital in the Sheikh Maqsood neighborhood.

International response

France condemned the renewed violence on Saturday.

“France deplores the resumption of fighting in Aleppo, particularly in the Sheikh Maqsood district,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement. It called on “all parties to immediately return to the ceasefire, facilitate access for humanitarian aid, and protect the civilian population.”

The ministry added, “France supports proposals aimed at ensuring the protection of all civilians in Aleppo, as the Syrian government has pledged, and at enabling a dignified withdrawal of combatants.”

France reaffirmed its cooperation with international partners, “primarily the United States, to restore security and stability to Aleppo within the framework of a united, sovereign, and pluralistic Syria.”

Offer to end ongoing violence

Rojava authorities announced early Saturday that they welcomed an international proposal to transfer Kurdish fighters from the Kurdish-majority quarters in Aleppo to Rojava, provided that the Kurdish population in the area is protected.

Elham Ahmad, co-chair of Rojava’s foreign affairs, released a statement on behalf of the Kurdish administration, saying they “welcome the proposal of the international mediating forces to reposition the forces present in Sheikh Maqsood to the east of the Euphrates in a safe manner, provided that local Kurdish protection and a local council for the residents of the two neighborhoods are ensured, in accordance with the April 1 agreement.”

The statement refers to an agreement between Kurdish authorities and Damascus.

On the ground

The renewed clashes follow days of confrontations between the Asayish (Kurdish security forces) and the Syrian Arab Army. While Ashrafiyah has partially fallen under army control, Sheikh Maqsood remains under Asayish control.

A brief ceasefire brokered by the United States and France collapsed on Friday.

The escalation comes despite a landmark agreement reached in March between Damascus and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which established a nationwide ceasefire. Talks between the two sides are ongoing, but the latest round, held on Sunday, failed to produce tangible results, according to Syrian state media.