Kurdish fighters evacuate Aleppo after several days of violent clashes with Syrian government forces

Kurdish fighters were evacuated from a disputed neighborhood in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, officials said early Sunday local time, a move that could end several days of violent clashes with government forces.

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

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

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

An News journalist at the scene saw the buses leaving on Sunday and was told by officials that 360 fighters were traveling on the transports. Other buses carrying detained civilians and combatants left on Saturday.

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

During the day, several drone attacks were reported in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, prompting authorities to halt civilian flights at Aleppo International Airport until further notice, state television said.

On Saturday afternoon, an explosive drone hit the Aleppo governorate building shortly after two cabinet ministers and a local official held a press conference about developments in the city. There was no immediate information on the victims.

Syrian state television broadcast footage showing a drone exploding as it crashed into the building and blamed Kurdish fighters for the attack. The SDF denied the reports and said its fighters did not attack a civilian target.

The fighting between both 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 fighting and more than 140,000 were displaced.

US special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack held talks in Damascus on Saturday with senior officials, including President Ahmad al-Sharaaand called on all parties to cease hostilities and return to dialogue.

“The violence risks undermining progress made since the fall of the Assad regime and invites external interference that serves neither party’s interests,” Barrack said in comments published on

He said recent events in Aleppo were “deeply worrying” and that Washington’s goal “remains a sovereign and unified Syria, at peace with itself and its neighbors, where equality, justice and opportunity extend to all its people.”

Syrian state news agency SANA reported that two Kurdish fighters blew themselves up while surrounded by security forces without causing any casualties, while gunshots were still heard in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood around noon on Saturday.

Since early hours, Syrian security forces have been sweeping the neighborhood after asking residents to stay home for their own safety.

Hundreds of people who fled the neighborhood days earlier waited at the entrances to Sheikh Maqsoud to be allowed in once the military operations ended.

Clashes broke out on 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, made no progress on merging 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 majority-Kurdish neighborhoods in the five days of fighting, while government officials reported that at least 10 civilians were killed in surrounding government-controlled areas.

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

The Kurdish-led Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, which controls much of northeastern Syria, said security forces attacked the Khaled Fajr Hospital in Sheikh Maqsoud, endangering the lives of patients and paramedics. He called on the international community to intervene to force government forces to stop the bombing.

State television reported that at least one security member was injured when a drone fired by the SDF attacked the neighborhood.

This also occurs when the US on Saturday carried out large-scale strikes against multiple Islamic State targets throughout Syria. The attacks targeted at least 35 locations.