The Operations Authority of the Syrian Army announced the launch of a sweeping operation in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood of Aleppo to clear it of the presence of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), after all deadlines granted to the group had expired. The authority stated that the neighborhood will be handed over to security forces and state institutions immediately after the completion of the operation, enabling them to resume their duties in the area.
In a statement issued on Friday, the authority said that the Syrian Army had attempted to resolve the situation by reaching an agreement that would allow SDF fighters to leave the city of Aleppo with their weapons. However, according to the statement, the group targeted the buses transporting them on three occasions, in addition to shelling army positions and attacking its soldiers, resulting in the killing of three soldiers and the injury of more than twelve others.
The authority noted that the policy of stalling pursued by the SDF, accompanied by systematic shelling and the targeting of civilian sites in Aleppo, diminishes the chances of continuing with any new agreement with the group. It also confirmed the discovery of a large number of PKK members in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, who participated alongside the SDF in killing more than ten young Kurdish men who refused to fight with them, before burning their bodies in an attempt to intimidate civilians in the area.
Earlier, the Syrian Army had declared the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood a closed military zone, urging civilians to stay away from windows, move to lower floors, and avoid approaching SDF positions. The army also opened humanitarian corridors and extended deadlines several times to allow civilians to leave through them, publishing maps to ensure their safety, while the SDF and PKK continued to target civilians in the city of Aleppo.
SANA
