Intense Clashes in Aleppo Between Syrian Army and Kurdish SDF, Millions in Insecurity

The reporter’s team was attacked four times, with a projectile striking their equipment. Areas with heavy conflict, particularly Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maksoud, house approximately 400,000 residents. Within the first 24 hours of fighting, around 160,000 people were forced to flee their homes.

The primary cause of conflict is the government’s demand that several hundred thousand SDF troops integrate into state forces, per a March agreement between both sides. However, disputes arose regarding how many soldiers would join and the process of integration.

Elderly residents expressed despair. One elderly man said, “After twenty-five years of crisis, may God take my life so I may rest.” A woman lost her balance and fell in the crowd, and others accidentally stepped on her. Her son wept.

A temporary ceasefire on Friday morning proved short-lived. Buses arriving to evacuate SDF fighters led to renewed clashes. Radical factions within the SDF were reluctant to disarm.

The Syrian government stated that citizens could return to their homes once the area was cleared, insisting this is a conflict between government forces and non-state actors, not between Arabs and Kurds.

Aleppo’s residents now live between hope and fear, hoping an agreement between the SDF and the Syrian army will allow them to return, though fifteen years of civil war has left deep trauma.