Syrian army says completed 'security sweep' of Kurdish neighbourhood of Aleppo

Ahram Online , Saturday 10 Jan 2026

The Syrian army said Saturday that it had completed a "security sweep" of a neighbourhood in Aleppo where its forces have clashed with Kurdish fighters.

Columns of smoke rise from the site of artillery shelling that targeted the area near Aleppo’s Abdelrahman Mosque on January 8, 2026, amid intense clashes between government forces and the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). AFP

"We announce the completion of a full security sweep of the Sheikh Maqsud neighbourhood in Aleppo," the army said in a statement carried by state media, while warning residents to stay in their homes. AFP correspondents in Aleppo said shelling could still be heard after the announcement.

This came a day after Syria's Defence Ministry announced a ceasefire after three days of clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters in the northern city of Aleppo that displaced over 140,000 people. Still, fighting resumed in the evening, according to AP.

There was no public response from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces to the ceasefire announcement, while a local Kurdish council rejected calls for the evacuation of fighters.

The Defence Ministry statement said the ceasefire took effect at 3 a.m. in the three city neighbourhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud, Achrafieh, and Bani Zaid, and gave armed groups six hours to leave the area.

A local council representing the Sheikh Maqsoud and Achrafieh neighbourhoods issued a statement saying, “We will not accept the pressures imposed on us and the calls for surrender.”

“We do not trust the Damascus government to entrust our security to us, and we have decided to remain in our neighbourhoods and defend them,” it said.

Friday evening, the Syrian army announced Sheikh Maqsoud to be a “closed military zone" and launched what it described as a “clearing operation.”

Tom Barrack, the U.S. envoy to Syria, welcomed the ceasefire announcement and extended “profound gratitude to all parties — the Syrian government, the Syrian Democratic Forces, local authorities, and community leaders — for the restraint and goodwill that made this vital pause possible.”

Barrack's statement on X said the U.S. was working with the parties to extend the ceasefire beyond the six-hour deadline.

U.S. President Donald Trump later told Kurdish broadcaster Rudaw that “I want to see peace" between the two sides.

“The Kurds and the Syrian government — we get along with both, as you know very well. They have been natural enemies over the years, but we get along with both," he said.