The Syrian army said on Saturday that it had searched the Sheikh Maqsoud district in Aleppo, signalling that it had taken control of the area by force from Kurdish fighters after a temporary ceasefire failed to end days-long clashes.
Violence in Syria’s second-largest city has deepened one of the country’s main divisions, as President Ahmed al-Sharaa seeks to unite Syria under a single authority after 14 years of war. Kurdish forces are sceptical of his Islamist-led government.
The previous week brought a ceasefire welcomed by the United States (U.S.) and other world powers, but Kurdish forces refused to leave their last stronghold in Sheikh Maqsoud in line with the agreement. The army said on Friday that it would carry out a ground operation to expel them.
Kurds deny defeat
Early on Saturday, the Syrian army claimed it had completed its search of the district, although some Kurdish fighters were still in concealed positions. Kurdish forces, in a written statement, denied that Sheikh Maqsoud had fallen and said they were still putting up resistance. Reuters journalists in the city did not hear the sounds of fighting.
End of Kurdish control in Aleppo, but not in the Northeast
The army’s takeover of Sheikh Maqsoud would mark the end of Kurdish control over the enclaves in Aleppo that they have held since the start of the war in 2011.
The Kurds still control large parts of northeastern Syria, where they administer a semi-autonomous zone. They have opposed integration into the new Syrian government, which is made up of former rebel fighters who removed longtime leader Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
The clashes in Aleppo began on Tuesday after talks on integration reached a deadlock, leaving at least nine civilians dead and forcing more than 140.000 people to flee.
U.S. envoy Tom Barrack said on X that he had met with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi in Amman to consolidate the ceasefire and ensure a “peaceful withdrawal of Kurdish forces from Aleppo.“
photo: archive
