ISTANBUL

Nearly 142,000 Syrians have been displaced from the northern city of Aleppo since the escalation of attacks by the PKK/YPG terrorist group operating under the name of SDF since Tuesday, authories said Thursday.

The displacement comes under an emergency plan to evacuate civilians from the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods and surrounding areas, amid continued SDF shelling.

According to a statement carried by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), the government-run Aleppo Central Response Committee said that it had so far received around 142,000 displaced civilians, including 13,000 who arrived by 1 pm local time on Thursday alone.

The committee said 12 temporary shelters have been opened to accommodate the displaced civilians, including 10 inside Aleppo and two in Azaz and Afrin in the northern Aleppo countryside.

“SDF shelled the surroundings of designated humanitarian corridors and civilian neighborhoods in central Aleppo,” the committee added, calling it a “blatant violation of international laws and conventions.”

The Aleppo Central Response Committee was formed by a decision of the Aleppo governor on Wednesday to oversee the situation of displaced residents and secure shelter and support amid the ongoing developments in parts of the city.

The SDF attacks expanded to include educational, health and service facilities, in addition to residential areas.

The Syrian army began heavy and focused shelling of SDF positions in Aleppo on Thursday in retaliation for attacks by the group that killed at least nine civilians and injured dozens.

The army attacks came after the SDF forces renewed its shelling of residential neighborhoods in the city for the third consecutive day on Thursday.

On March 10, the Syrian presidency announced the signing of an agreement for the SDF’s integration into state institutions, reaffirming the country's territorial unity and rejecting any attempts at division.

Syrian authorities say that in the months since, the SDF has not shown any efforts to meet the terms of the agreement.

The Syrian government has intensified efforts to maintain security across the country since the ouster of Bashar al-Assad’s regime on Dec. 8, 2024, after 24 years in power.