Syrian government troops and Kurdish forces exchanged fire in northern Aleppo on Wednesday, triggering a fresh wave of civilian displacement and underscoring the fragility of Syria’s post-2024 political transition.
According to the Syrian Civil Defence, 2,324 civilians were evacuated from the Kurdish-controlled neighbourhoods of Sheikh Maksoud and Ashrafieh after heavy fighting erupted overnight. Local residents living near the affected districts also fled their homes, fearing a wider escalation.
Emergency shelters were opened across the city, with some displaced families accommodated in hotels, according to state television reports citing both the Civil Defence and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.
For many families, the escape itself was harrowing.
“After a difficult night, me and my children managed to go through the crossing which was opened,” said Radwan Joumaa, a 30-year-old resident of Sheikh Maksoud, speaking to reporters after reaching safety on Wednesday. “It was a nightmare walking with my children to reach the crossing under heavy fire. We walked for five kilometres.”
Another resident, Yehya Oujaij, said his family had narrowly escaped the violence. “We just pray this will end soon,” he said. “Fourteen years of war is enough.”
The Syrian military later declared Sheikh Maksoud and Ashrafieh a “militarily restricted zone” and imposed a curfew, shortly before clashes intensified between government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Earlier on Wednesday, Syria’s interim government announced it had launched what it described as a “limited military operation” in Aleppo, accusing the SDF of attacking residential areas, roads and security forces.
In an official statement issued in Damascus, the government said the Syrian state was responsible for protecting all citizens, including Kurds, and rejected claims that the measures targeted any specific community.
“The Syrian state reiterates its call for armed groups to withdraw from Sheikh Maksoud and Ashrafieh and urges full protection of civilians from any political or media disputes,” the statement said.
The SDF strongly denied the allegations. In a statement from its General Command, the group said the two neighbourhoods “do not, under any circumstances, constitute a military threat” and could not serve as a launch point for attacks on Aleppo.
“We categorically affirm that the Syrian Democratic Forces have no military presence in the city of Aleppo,” the statement said, calling on guarantor states — primarily the United States — to intervene. The SDF warned that continued “aggression” against civilians would have serious consequences.
Kurdish integration deal stalled
The fighting comes amid a broader political impasse between Kurdish authorities and Syria’s interim leadership following the upheaval that reshaped the country’s power structure at the end of 2024.
Since then, the new authorities in Damascus have sought to reassert centralized control over a nation fractured by decades of Assad family rule and nearly 14 years of civil war.
Kurds, Syria’s largest ethnic minority, primarily inhabit the north-east, where they have maintained a self-governing administration that also controls most of the country’s oil and gas resources.
In March last year, Kurdish leaders and the transitional government reached an agreement to integrate autonomous Kurdish institutions — including armed units — into state structures and the national army. The deal, however, has not been implemented, and its deadline expired at the end of 2025 without progress.
Negotiations have since stalled, with Kurdish officials voicing fears of renewed marginalization and pushing for a decentralized political system to safeguard minority rights.
Meanwhile, both sides accuse each other of targeting civilians. Kurdish sources said at least seven civilians have been killed and more than 50 injured since fighting resumed on Tuesday. The interim government, in contrast, said three civilians were killed and 15 injured — including children — in what it described as SDF attacks on Wednesday.
Kurdish officials also reported that Sheikh Maksoud and Ashrafieh are now under complete siege, with food and medical supplies blocked from entering the districts, raising concerns of a deepening humanitarian crisis if the fighting continues.
