Syria army says SDF position in Aleppo areas ‘legitimate targets’

DAMASCUS

The Syrian army on Jan. 7 declared Aleppo’s two neighborhoods as closed military zones, saying that military positions of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are “legitimate targets.”

After the SDF’s “massacres” in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods and escalation, the Syrian army will target the YPG-led Kurdish group’s positions, an official statement noted.

The statement called on civilians living in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh to immediately move away from SDG headquarters and military points in order to protect their safety.

Damascus created two safe humanitarian corridors and they would be opened for the evacuation of civilians from the area, it said.

Schools and public institutions were shut in north Syria's Aleppo on Jan. 7, as sporadic clashes between government troops and Kurdish-led forces continued into their second day.

The Jan. 6 clashes, which killed nine people, were the worst between the two sides, who have so far failed to implement a March deal to merge the SDF’s semi-autonomous administration and military into Syria's new government.

Syria's official news agency SANA reported shelling from Kurdish neighborhoods on government-held areas, adding that Syrian troops had returned fire.

On Jan. 6, civil aviation authorities announced "the suspension of flights to and from Aleppo airport for 24 hours and their diversion to Damascus airport" due to the violence, SANA reported.

Schools, universities and government offices were also closed.

The clashes killed nine people, mostly civilians, with both sides trading blame over who started the fighting.

During the Syrian civil war, Aleppo was the scene of fierce fighting between rebels and forces of ousted President Bashar al-Assad before he regained control of the city in 2016.

Assad was ousted in a lightning Islamist-led offensive in 2024.

The March agreement on the Kurdish authority's integration into the state was supposed to be implemented by the end of 2025.

The SDF is pushing for decentralized rule, an idea which Syria's new authorities have rejected.