Thousands flee as Syrian army shells Kurdish areas in Aleppo

Dubai: Fresh clashes erupted in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo on Wednesday after hundreds — and later thousands — of civilians fled two predominantly Kurdish neighbourhoods through corridors opened by government forces, with the Syrian army launching shelling once a deadline for evacuations expired, witnesses and officials said.

Syria’s military had given residents until 3pm (1200 GMT) to leave the neighbourhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Achrafieh, warning they would be treated as “closed military zones” after the deadline. Soon after the cutoff, explosions and heavy weapons fire were heard across the two areas, an AFP correspondent reported.

The Syrian Civil Defence said that by noon, around 850 people had left the neighbourhoods. AFP later reported that thousands streamed out before the deadline, including families carrying belongings, some in tears. “We fled the clashes and we don’t know where to go… 14 years of war, I think that’s enough,” Ahmed, a 38-year-old man who gave only his first name, told AFP while carrying his son.

The violence followed deadly clashes and shelling on Tuesday that killed seven people in areas controlled by the Kurdish-led, US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and four in government-controlled parts of Aleppo, according to the Civil Defence. Dozens were wounded.

Syria’s Information Ministry said the army would launch a “limited military operation” in Aleppo, describing it as a response to SDF attacks on government-held parts of the city. The ministry said such attacks over recent months had killed more than 20 civilians, wounded over 150, and caused the deaths of more than 25 soldiers.

The SDF, however, accused government forces of attacking the Kurdish-majority neighbourhoods with heavy weapons.

In a statement, the group said its forces were putting up “fierce resistance” to repel the assault and protect residents. Kurdish security forces later said they had thwarted what they described as a first incursion attempt involving tanks shortly after the evacuation deadline expired, and accused “Damascus government factions” of shelling residential areas with artillery and tanks.

Syrian authorities, for their part, accused the SDF of bombarding government-controlled districts. The government also said SDF military positions inside Sheikh Maqsoud and Achrafieh were “legitimate military targets.”

The latest fighting is the deadliest so far in recent months between the two sides in Aleppo, where intermittent clashes have repeatedly ended in short-lived truces. The renewed violence comes as efforts to implement a March agreement — under interim President Ahmad Al Sharaa — to integrate the SDF into Syria’s national army by the end of 2025 have stalled amid disagreements over the terms.

Kurdish officials have pushed for decentralised rule, an idea Syria’s new authorities have rejected. While scores of SDF fighters withdrew from the two neighbourhoods in April as part of the deal, the districts have remained under the control of Kurdish units linked to the SDF. Officials from the central government and the SDF met again in Damascus on Sunday, but government officials said no tangible progress was made.

Authorities announced the suspension of flights at Aleppo airport and shut schools, universities and government offices. Residents in government-held areas said the violence revived memories of the civil war. “We have nowhere else to go, so we’ll stay in our home,” said Joud Serjian, 53, a resident of Aleppo’s government-controlled Syriac Quarter.

The SDF controls large swathes of Syria’s north and northeast and was a key US partner in the fight against the Daesh (Islamic State) group. Turkey considers the SDF a terrorist organisation due to its links to the PKK, though a peace process is now underway. Both the SDF and the Syrian government have accused each other of trying to derail the March integration deal.

-- With AP inputs