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Syria said Wednesday its army will launch a limited military operation in Aleppo against the terrorist organization PKK and its Syrian branch, the YPG, which operates under the name SDF.
In a statement issued by the country’s Information Ministry, authorities said attacks over the past month killed more than 20 civilians and at least 25 Syrian soldiers, while injuring more than 150 others.
The statement said the attacks had severely disrupted daily life and trade in Aleppo.
"In response to SDF's ongoing attacks on civilian residential areas, main roads and security forces, the Syrian Arab Army will launch a limited military operation in Aleppo," the ministry said.
The Syrian government said the operation was based on a local decision and carried out at the request of Aleppo residents.
Authorities said the objectives include halting artillery fire, sniper attacks and unmanned aerial vehicle strikes; restoring security; reopening the Aleppo–Azaz road; and protecting civilians.
It pointed out that military activities will be conducted in line with international law, with a focus on evacuating civilians. The operation will target armed groups deemed responsible for the attacks, not the civilian population, it stated.
The PKK/YPG terrorist group is operating under the name of SDF in Syria.
On March 10, the Syrian presidency announced an agreement aimed at integrating the SDF into state institutions, reaffirming Syria’s territorial unity and rejecting any form of division.
Syrian authorities say the SDF has since failed to take concrete steps to implement the agreement.
This came after the SDF renewed shelling of residential neighborhoods in Aleppo for the second day on Wednesday morning, a day after at least five people were killed and 16 others injured in a series of attacks by the SDF in Aleppo on Tuesday.
Clashes intensified in Aleppo starting Jan. 6, when PKK/YPG attacks in the city center killed one soldier and five civilians and injured at least 31 others, according to Syrian officials.
The Syrian army deployed tanks, armored personnel carriers and additional troops to the front lines with PKK/YPG positions.
As fighting escalated, operations at official institutions in the city center were suspended, schools and universities were closed, and flights at Aleppo International Airport were halted.
Authorities said PKK/YPG also targeted a school and a hospital in the city’s Syriac neighborhood.
Separately, Syria’s state news agency SANA reported that detainees escaped from a prison in the Al-Shaqif area of Aleppo, which is under SDF control. A security source said the number of escapees was not yet known.
The Syrian Civil Defense said it evacuated at least 850 civilians from affected areas as of 12:30 p.m. local time, citing worsening humanitarian conditions and continued shelling.
Evacuations were carried out through assembly points in the Al-Awarid area and Zuhur Street, as residents fled neighborhoods hit by SDF fire.
Aleppo’s Internal Transport Company said it placed its full bus fleet on alert to transport displaced civilians to temporary shelters.
The Syrian army said SDF positions in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods are now considered “legitimate targets” following what it described as an escalation and “massacres” in Aleppo province.
The army’s Operations Authority announced that the two neighborhoods would be treated as closed military zones after 3:00 p.m. local time, calling on civilians to stay away from SDF positions and imposing a complete movement ban in the areas.
The announcement followed renewed shelling of residential neighborhoods for a second consecutive day, after at least five people were killed and 16 injured in SDF attacks on Tuesday, Syrian authorities said.
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