Syria urges civilians to evacuate Aleppo neighborhoods
DAMASCUS
An aerial view shows Syrian residents in vehicles, queueing to flee from Sheikh Maqsoud and Achrafieh neighborhoods after clashes broke out on Tuesday between Syrian government forces and SDF in a contested area of the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)
The PKK/YPG led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) shelled residential neighborhoods in Aleppo in northern Syria for the third consecutive day on Thursday, Syrian media reported, as Syria announced it will begin targeted operations against SDF positions.
Thousands have already fled the area following clashes between the army and Kurdish-led forces that have killed more than a dozen people.
On Thursday, the authorities again announced that civilians would be able to leave before 1:00 pm (1000 GMT), with the army warning that it would resume bombardment half an hour after that deadline expired.
Alikhbariyah TV said SDF forces targeted the Lairamoun area and the Shihan traffic circle in Aleppo using machine-gun fire.
The shelling was the latest SDF attack in Aleppo, where at least six people have been killed and 39 others injured since Tuesday.
Syria's government on Wednesday demanded that the SDF leave the neighborhoods they control in Aleppo following clashes between the two sides that saw thousands of civilians flee.
The violence comes as the SDF failed to implement the March 10 deal to merge it into Syria's new government.
In a statement, the government expressed its "demand for the withdrawal of armed groups from the Sheikh Maqsud and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods."
The Syrian military shelled the neighborhoods after declaring them "closed military zones" from 1200 GMT.
A military source at the scene told AFP the ongoing operation was "limited" and aimed at "pressuring SDF in the two neighborhoods to leave the area so the authorities can extend their control to the entire city."
The army said it had established two "humanitarian crossings," and correspondents saw thousands of civilians use them to flee with their belongings, some of them in tears.
Later, the Syrian civil defense agency said they had evacuated "more than 3,000 civilians," mostly from the two neighborhoods.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Syrian army said that "all SDF military positions within the Sheikh Maqsud and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods of Aleppo are legitimate military targets."
The March 10 agreement on the SDF integration into the state was supposed to be implemented by the end of 2025.
In a statement, the SDF insisted that they had no presence in the neighborhoods and that the areas "do not pose a military threat in any way."
Syrian authorities accused the SDF of bombarding government-controlled areas.
Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, on Wednesday said, "We call on all actors to immediately deescalate, exercise maximum restraint, and take all measures to prevent further harm to civilians."
He called for "flexibility and goodwill" and the prompt resumption of negotiations to implement the March deal.
Schools, universities, and government offices in the city were shut down on Wednesday, and authorities announced the suspension of flights to and from Aleppo airport until Thursday evening.
The SDF controls swathes of Syria's north and northeast, with the backing of a U.S.-led international coalition.
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.
Last year, flare-ups of sectarian violence in the Alawite heartland on the Mediterranean coast and in Druze-majority Sweida province killed hundreds of members of the minority communities.