Members of Syrian government forces deploy on the streets as they take over the Achrafieh neighborhood from Kurdish fighters after three days of clashes in a contested area of the northern city of Aleppo, Syria. AP
SANA said the deployments focused on Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud, neighbourhoods that have for years been among the SDF’s main footholds inside government-held Aleppo. It said the Syrian Civil Defence began removing earth berms and reopening roads as part of efforts to restore normal life.
Syrian authorities said transfers of SDF fighters to Syria’s northeast had begun after the Defence Ministry announced a ceasefire around Sheikh Maqsoud, Ashrafieh and the nearby Bani Zaid district.
Aleppo’s media directorate said SDF members were transported “with light individual weapons” to areas in the country’s northeast, in line with the Defence Ministry’s announcement, SANA reported.
The directorate said state authorities were preparing to enter Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud to provide services, and that the “Aleppo Response Committee” would coordinate civilians’ return after security operations were completed, the area fully swept, mines removed, and roads reopened, according to the statement carried by SANA.
It added that security authorities had urged residents to comply with instructions and avoid rushing into the areas until mines were cleared and roads fully reopened.
SANA cited Syrian sources as saying a “new phase” of restoring stability had begun, including reopening the strategic Castello Road linking Aleppo to the northern countryside, a key route used for trade and movement.
Syria’s Emergency Ministry issued an “urgent call” for civilians in Ashrafieh, Sheikh Maqsoud and Bani Zaid to exercise “the utmost caution," urging them not to approach or enter sites previously used by SDF forces, according to SANA.
The Defence Ministry said the ceasefire took effect from 0300 local time and was intended to end armed activity in the districts, restore the rule of law, and allow residents who had left to return safely, SANA reported.
It said armed groups were required to leave from 0300 local time, with a deadline of 0900, and that those permitted to depart could carry only light individual weapons, while the Syrian army would escort them and ensure safe passage to the northeast, according to the report.
Separately, Al Qahera News correspondent Khalil Hamlo said buses entered Sheikh Maqsoud to transport SDF fighters towards eastern Syria under arrangements to end armed presence in the area, and that government institutions were preparing to provide basic services and restore official operations.
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