ALEPPO / ISTANBUL
The deadline set by the Syrian government for the SDF to withdraw from Aleppo has expired, the country's Defense Ministry said on Friday.
The time limit given to the group ended at 9 am local time (0600GMT), after the Syrian army largely gained control of the Ashrafiyah and Bani Zaid neighborhoods through targeted operations against SDF positions in the city center.
Clashes that intensified Thursday night and continued intermittently until 3 am in Ashrafiyah and Bani Zaid, at times escalating along the lines of the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, stopped following the ministry’s announcement.
“Armed individuals will only be allowed to carry light personal weapons. Their safe passage will be ensured by the Syrian army, allowing them to exit toward the country’s northeastern regions,” the ministry had said.
Syrian forces are expected to continue targeted operations if the group failed to leave Aleppo.
Operations in Aleppo
The PKK/YPG terror group operating under the name SDF has carried out attacks on multiple locations in Aleppo from areas it has occupied since Jan. 6, according to Syrian officials.
Damascus had called on the group to comply with the March 10 agreement and to halt its attacks.
As the assaults continued, the Syrian army launched targeted operations against the group’s positions in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah neighborhoods, which were under its occupation.
On March 10, 2025, 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.
But in the months since, authorities say, the SDF has not shown any efforts to meet the terms of the agreement.
The 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.
Since Jan. 6, at least nine Syrians have been killed and 55 people – most of them civilians – have been wounded in attacks carried out by the group.
The Aleppo City Center Committee earlier said 142,000 people had been evacuated to safe areas within the city.