Kurdish fighters evacuated from Aleppo after days of violent clashes
[January 12, 2026]
By GHAITH ALSAYED
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.”
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Civilians evacuate an area of the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where
clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been
taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Saturday, Jan.
10, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)
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.
___
Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue contributed to this report from
Beirut.
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