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Syrian government forces have cleared two Aleppo neighborhoods of YPG/SDF terrorists following a limited operation that began Jan. 5, according to Turkish security sources, who say the PKK terror organization in Qandil ordered local fighters to remain and engage in combat rather than accept negotiated withdrawal, Türkiye Daily reported.
The operation is conducted in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods, where YPG elements had maintained control despite nearly 10 months of political negotiations for a peaceful withdrawal under the March 10 Agreement framework.
Security sources say all civilian casualties resulting from the clashes are the responsibility of Qandil, the PKK terror group's headquarters in northern Iraq, which rejected compromise in favor of confrontation.
Türkiye's National Intelligence Organization attempted to resolve the crisis through dialogue from the outset, sources said, but YPG terrorists blocked efforts to create safe passage for civilians to leave the area.
Syrian authorities had conducted political negotiations at various levels with YPG since March 2025 to secure the group's departure from Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh without conflict. During this period, the group stalled at the negotiating table while continuing attacks on central Aleppo that destabilized the region and threatened civilians, according to the security sources.
The division of Aleppo posed serious threats not only to regional security and stability but also to economic development, sources said.
Tensions escalated again on Jan. 5, 2026, when YPG/SDF launched attacks on road checkpoints controlled by Syria's Interior Ministry. Syria's Defense Ministry then planned a limited operation to remove YPG/SDF terrorists from the two neighborhoods.
In the operation's initial phases, outer areas of Sheikh Maqsoud were cleared of YPG elements without significant fighting. However, after Ashrafieh was evacuated and Sheikh Maqsoud was surrounded, the terror group issued orders to trapped fighters to "stay and fight," sources said.
SDF leadership, including ringleader Mazloum Abdi and so-called foreign relations official Ilham Ahmed, demonstrated openness to compromise through various channels, security sources noted.
Despite Qandil's order to fight, Syrian forces maintained sensitivity toward civilians throughout the operation, according to sources. YPG/SDF terror groups continue using residents of Kurdish neighborhoods as human shields and firing positions, endangering civilian lives and property, sources said.
Although Syrian forces have secured control throughout Sheikh Maqsoud, YPG/SDF terrorists positioned in the hospital and surrounding buildings disregard the lives of patients and wounded, sources reported. The militants have killed numerous Syrian security personnel through sniper fire from tunnels where they hide.
Syrian forces' civilian sensitivity and efforts to prevent civilian casualties are the main reason YPG/SDF chose to position itself in the hospital, security sources said.
Security sources emphasized that events in Aleppo do not constitute an Arab-Kurdish conflict as YPG/SDF terrorists portray. "The real cause of the clashes is YPG's concern about exploiting Syria's future and resources," sources said in a statement.
The Kurdish people are an integral part and essential component of Syria, sources noted. After the Assad regime's fall, ethnically and religiously divisive policies were abandoned in Syria. The fundamental aim is to establish common ground through consensus and agreement involving all Syrian elements to build a shared future.
YPG's pressure on the SDF also damages prospects for political compromise in Syria, according to sources.
Despite these events, the process toward a terror-free Türkiye that began under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's leadership continues, security sources said, adding that these incidents will not derail the process.
The organization attempts to characterize events in the region as an ethnic attack against the Kurdish people, sources said. "All of this is nothing more than an armed terrorist organization disregarding the security of the Kurdish people it claims to represent for its own interests," the statement said.
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