Kurdish fighters evacuated from Aleppo after days of violent clashes

ALEPPO, Syria (AP) — Kurdish fighters were evacuated from a contested neighborhood in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo, officials said early Sunday, a move that could bring an end to several days of violent clashes with government forces.

State-run news agency SANA reported buses transported the last of the fighters from the Aleppo neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsoud to northeastern Syria, which is under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

“Through international mediation to halt the attacks and violations against our people in Aleppo, we have reached an understanding leading to a ceasefire and the safe evacuation of martyrs, the wounded, trapped civilians, and fighters from the Achrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhoods to northern and eastern Syria,” SDF commander Mazloum Abdi said in a post on X.

He called for “mediators to uphold their promises to stop the violations and work towards the safe return of the displaced to their homes.”

An Associated Press journalist at the scene saw buses leaving Sunday and was told by officials that the transports carried 360 fighters. Other buses carrying civilians and detained fighters departed on Saturday.

Drone strikes are part of intense clashes

Syrian security forces deployed Saturday in Sheikh Maqsoud after days of clashes with Kurdish fighters that killed and wounded dozens.

During the day, several drone strikes were reported in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, leading authorities to stop civilian flights at Aleppo International Airport until further notice, state TV said.

On Saturday afternoon, an explosive drone hit the Aleppo Governorate building shortly after two Cabinet ministers and a local official held a news conference on the developments in the city. There was no immediate word on casualties.

Syria’s state TV aired footage showing a drone exploding as it slammed into the building and blamed Kurdish fighters for the attack. The SDF denied the reports, saying its fighters did not attack a civilian target.

The fighting between the two sides is the most intense since the fall of then-President Bashar Assad in December 2024. At least 22 people were killed in five days of clashes and more than 140,000 were displaced.

U.S. Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack held talks in Damascus Saturday with top officials, including President Ahmad al-Sharaa, and called on all parties to cease hostilities and return to dialogue.

“Violence risks undermining the progress achieved since the fall of the Assad regime and invites external interference that serves no party’s interests,” Barrack said in comments posted on X. “We urge all parties to exercise maximum restraint, immediately cease hostilities, and return to dialogue,” he added, saying that fighting undermines the deal reached in March between the government and the Kurdish leadership.

He said recent developments in Aleppo were “deeply concerning,” and Washington’s objective “remains a sovereign, unified Syria — at peace with itself and its neighbors — where equality, justice, and opportunity are extended to all its people.”

Residents flee Kurdish-majority areas of Aleppo

Syria’s state news agency SANA reported that two Kurdish fighters blew themselves up while surrounded by security forces without inflicting casualties, as gunfire was still heard in the neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsoud around noon Saturday.

From the early hours, Syrian security forces were sweeping the neighborhood after calling on residents to stay home for their own safety.

Hundreds of people who fled the neighborhood days earlier were waiting at Sheikh Maqsoud’s entrances to be allowed in once the military operations are over.

Clashes broke out Tuesday in the predominantly Kurdish northern neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud, Achrafieh and Bani Zaid, after the government and the Syrian Democratic Forces, the main Kurdish-led force in the country, failed to make progress on how to merge their forces into the national army. Security forces have since captured Achrafieh and Bani Zaid.

Kurdish forces said at least 12 civilians were killed in the Kurdish-majority neighborhoods in the five days of fighting, while government officials reported at least 10 civilians were killed in the surrounding government-controlled areas.

Syria accuses Kurdish fighters of using civilian buildings

Syria’s Information Minister Hamza al-Mustafa told state TV that Kurdish fighters used civilian buildings including hospitals and clinics during the fighting. Each side has accused the other of starting the violence and of deliberately targeting civilian neighborhoods and infrastructure, including ambulance crews and hospitals.

The Kurdish-led Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, which controls much of Syria’s northeast, said that security forces targeted Khaled Fajr Hospital in Sheikh Maqsoud, putting the lives of patients and paramedics in danger. It called on the international community to intervene to force government forces to stop shelling.

State TV reported that at least one security member was wounded when a drone fired by the SDF struck the neighborhood.

Associated Press journalists said bursts of gunfire could be heard as government-deployed drones flew over Sheikh Maqsoud.

The Syrian military declared the neighborhood a “closed military zone” since Friday night as it launched a “clearing operation.”

On Friday, Barrack discussed the developments in Syria with Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in Amman. The U.S. envoy said Jordan offered support to efforts aimed at consolidating the ceasefire and the peaceful withdrawal of Kurdish fighters from Aleppo.

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Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue contributed to this report from Beirut.