Syria says it now controls Aleppo after government forces moved into the Kurdish districts of Ashrafiyeh and Sheikh Maqsud and transferred hundreds of combatants to Kurdish-held areas in the northeast. Officials reported 419 fighters moved, including 59 wounded, while different sources give conflicting casualty and arrest figures. Residents returning to Ashrafiyeh found damaged and looted homes; Sheikh Maqsud remained sealed off. International mediators and the US urged a return to dialogue amid unverified allegations of executions and other violations.
Syria Says It Controls Aleppo After Seizing Kurdish Districts; Fighters Evacuated, Arrests Reported
Some residents were able to return on Sunday to their neighbourhoods in Aleppo, where Kurdish fighters had clashed with government forces for days (OMAR HAJ KADOUR)(OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP/AFP)
Syria's government said it had established full control over Aleppo after security forces moved into the city's Kurdish districts of Ashrafiyeh and Sheikh Maqsud, evacuating fighters to Kurdish-administered areas in the northeast following days of deadly clashes.
What Happened
Residents of Ashrafiyeh — the first neighbourhood to come under army control — began returning to inspect damage, finding shrapnel, broken glass and signs of looting. Sheikh Maqsud, the second neighbourhood taken by government forces, remained sealed off with no civilian access reported.
Casualties, Transfers and Arrests
A Syrian security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that 419 Kurdish fighters were transferred from Sheikh Maqsud to the Kurdish-controlled zone in the northeast; the official said 59 of those fighters were wounded and an unspecified number were killed. Syrian authorities reported a toll of "24 dead and 129 wounded since last Tuesday." The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) gave a higher toll — reporting 45 civilians and 60 soldiers and fighters killed — and said about 300 "young Kurds" were detained and described those arrested as civilians rather than combatants.
SOHR also alleged "field executions" and burning of fighters' bodies in Sheikh Maqsud by government forces, claims that AFP and other news organizations were unable to independently verify.
On The Ground
In Ashrafiyeh, residents returned carrying bags and blankets after searches by security forces. Clothing vendor Yahya Al-Sufi, 49, said: "When we returned, we found holes in the walls and our homes had been looted... Now that things have calmed down, we're back to repair the walls and restore the water and electricity." In contrast, Sheikh Maqsud remained off-limits, according to an interior ministry source.
Diplomacy And Wider Context
Kurdish leader Mazlum Abdi said the combatants were evacuated "through the mediation of international parties to stop the attacks and violations against our people in Aleppo." Arriving fighters were met with crowds in the northeastern city of Qamishli, where hundreds gathered to greet them, some weeping and pledging revenge.
US envoy Tom Barrack met Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa and urged a "return to dialogue" with Kurdish representatives under an integration agreement reached last year. The March integration agreement between Damascus and Kurdish authorities was intended to be implemented last year but stalled over differences including Kurdish demands for decentralised rule.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) control large swathes of Syria's oil-rich north and northeast, territory captured during the civil war and the campaign against the Islamic State. Turkey — a close regional actor and ally of Syria's new leadership — views the SDF's main component as linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and has repeatedly launched operations to push Kurdish forces away from its border.
Note: Several claims in this report — including numbers of dead, arrests and alleged field executions — come from parties with differing accounts and could not be independently verified at the time of reporting.
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