A Syrian security officer is seen through the back window of a destroyed vehicle following a ceasefire which ended several days of fighting.
The neighborhoods in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo on Jan. 12 continued to efforts for a gradual stability after YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) cleared from the area.
In the Sheikh Maqsoud district, some families were seen returning to their homes. However, daily life has yet to fully resume, with most shops still shuttered and the scars of recent fighting remaining clearly visible across the neighborhood.
Authorities said tighter security measures were in place, and that a phased return to normal life is expected as stabilization efforts continue.
The clashes broke out on June. 6 in Sheikh Maqsoud, Ashrafieh and Bani Zaid after the government and the SDF failed to make progress on how to merge the SDF into the national army.
Following the Syrian army’s operations, the SDF members were evacuated from the neighborhoods to northeastern Syria.
Government security forces brought journalists to tour the devastated area, showing them the damaged Khalid al-Fajer Hospital and a military position belonging to the SDF’s security forces that government forces had targeted.
Damascus accused the SDF of using the hospital and other civilian facilities as military positions.
On one street, Syrian Red Crescent first responders spoke to a resident surrounded by charred cars and badly damaged residential buildings.
Some residents told The Associated Press that SDF forces did not allow their cars through checkpoints to leave.
“We lived a night of horror. I still cannot believe that I am right here standing on my own two feet,” said Ahmad Shaikho. “So far the situation has been calm. There hasn’t been any gunfire.”
Syrian Civil Defense first responders have been disarming improvised mines that they say were left by the SDF as booby traps.
Residents who fled are not being allowed back into the neighborhood until all the mines are cleared.
Meanwhile, Usama Muslim, nephew of SDF terrorist ringleader Salih Muslim, said Syrian army operations in Aleppo could extend to northern parts of the country due to the group’s failure to engage in the integration and negotiation process.
Speaking to the Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency, he said recent military steps taken by Syrian forces in Aleppo were driven by the SDF’s reluctance to respond to calls for dialogue and political accommodation.
