Syrian army opens humanitarian corridor in eastern Aleppo

ALEPPO

The Syrian military on Jan. 15 opened a corridor for civilians to evacuate an area of Aleppo province that has seen a military buildup following intense clashes between government and the YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Aleppo city.

The army’s announcement late on Jan. 14 — which said civilians would be able to evacuate through the “humanitarian corridor” from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Jan. 15 — appeared to signal plans for an offensive in the towns of Deir Hafer and Maskana and surrounding areas, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) east of Aleppo city.

The military called on the SDF and other armed groups to withdraw to the other side of the Euphrates River, to the east of the zone.

Syrian government troops have already sent troop reinforcements to the area after accusing the SDF of building up its own forces there.

The government has accused the SDF of launching drone strikes in Aleppo city, including one that hit the Aleppo governorate building on Jan. 10 shortly after two Cabinet ministers and a local official held a news conference there.

The tensions in the Deir Hafer area come after several days of intense clashes last week in Aleppo city that ended with the evacuation of the SDF members and government forces taking control of three contested neighborhoods.

The fighting broke out as negotiations have stalled between Damascus and the SDF, which controls large swaths of northeast Syria, over an agreement to integrate their forces and for the central government to take control of institutions including border crossings and oil fields in the northeast.

Sharaa blasts the SDF

In a televised interview aired on Jan. 14, Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa praised the “courage of the Kurds” and said he would guarantee their rights and wants them to be part of the Syrian army, but he lashed out at the SDF.

He accused the group of not abiding by an agreement reached last year under which their forces were supposed to withdraw from neighborhoods they controlled in Aleppo city and of forcibly preventing civilians from leaving when the army opened a corridor for them to evacuate amid the recent clashes.

Sharaa said that the SDF refused attempts by France and the U.S. to mediate a ceasefire and withdrawal of the SDF forces during the clashes due to an order from the PKK.