Syria’s Kurdish-led SDF agrees to a ceasefire and evacuation from Aleppo neighbourhoods after intense fighting with government forces
ALEPPO: Syria’s Kurdish-led forces have agreed to withdraw from Aleppo under a ceasefire deal following days of deadly clashes with government troops.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stated the understanding secured the evacuation of fighters, wounded, and trapped civilians from the Ashrafiyeh and Sheikh Maqsud districts to northern Syria.
Syrian state television reported buses carrying the last SDF members had left Sheikh Maqsud heading northeast.
The SDF initially denied its fighters were leaving, calling the bus transfers a forced displacement of civilians.
An AFP correspondent saw at least five buses carrying men out of the neighbourhood on Saturday.
The ceasefire was reached “through the mediation of international parties to stop the attacks and violations against our people in Aleppo,” the SDF said.
The United States and European Union called for a return to political dialogue between Damascus and Kurdish authorities.
Fighting erupted after negotiations to integrate Kurdish forces into Syria’s new government stalled.
The clashes killed at least 21 civilians and forced 155,000 people to flee their homes, according to local officials.
On the outskirts of Sheikh Maqsud, families trapped by the fighting were seen leaving with Syrian security forces.
Dozens of young men in civilian clothes were separated from crowds and transported to an unknown location.
A Syrian security official told AFP the men were “fighters” being “transferred to Syrian detention centres”.
Residents like 60-year-old Imad al-Ahmad sought permission to return home after taking refuge elsewhere.
Widow Nahed Mohammad Qassab said she left her three children with a neighbour and was trying to retrieve them.
A flight suspension at Aleppo airport was extended until further notice.
US envoy Tom Barrack met Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and called for a “return to dialogue” with the Kurds.
A March integration framework stalled over Kurdish demands for decentralised rule, which Damascus rejected.
The fighting raised fears of regional escalation, with Turkey stating readiness to intervene and Israel siding with Kurdish forces.
The clashes tested Syrian authorities’ ability to reunify the country after a brutal 14-year civil war.
