Syria has declared areas west of the Euphrates River a closed military zone, ordering all armed elements linked to the YPG terror group to withdraw eastward, as fighting intensifies and attacks on Aleppo mount despite previously signed agreements.
In a statement released to local media, the Syrian Army said the YPG, alongside PKK-linked terrorists and remnants of the former Assad regime, have been amassing forces in territories they control west of the Euphrates and using them as launchpads for kamikaze drone attacks on Aleppo.
YPG is the Syrian branch of the PKK terror group.
The army said these actions prompted the decision to designate the area a military zone.
A map published with the statement highlighted key locations, including Meskene and Deir Hafir, with authorities urging civilians to stay away from sites under militant control.
YPG bombs strategic bridge in northern Aleppo
The army demanded the immediate withdrawal of all armed elements to areas east of the Euphrates, warning that the zones would be treated as active military theatres.
The move follows days of intensified violence.
Since last week, YPG shelling of residential neighbourhoods, civilian facilities and Syrian Army positions in Aleppo has killed at least 24 people, wounded nearly 130 and displaced around 165,000 residents from the Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud districts, according to official figures.
Tensions rose further on Tuesday when Syrian media reported that the YPG detonated a strategic bridge in the village of Am Teenah in northern Aleppo’s countryside.
Alikhbariyah TV said the bridge separated YPG-controlled areas from territory held by the Syrian government and was blown up shortly after the army declared three nearby towns closed military zones.
The Syrian Army said those towns were sealed off to prevent them from being used as staging grounds for attacks, vowing to take “all necessary measures” to secure the area.
YPG fails to honour deal commitments
The escalation comes despite agreements signed earlier this year between Damascus and the YPG.
In March 2025, the Syrian presidency announced a deal to integrate the terror group into state institutions, reaffirming Syria’s territorial unity.
A follow-up agreement in April covered the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighbourhoods, recognising them as administrative parts of Aleppo, banning armed presence, limiting weapons to internal security forces and requiring YPG elements to withdraw east of the Euphrates.
Syrian authorities say the YPG has failed to implement any of those commitments.
Since the ouster of the Assad regime in December 2024, the government has stepped up security operations nationwide, seeking to reassert control and prevent renewed fragmentation as violence flares in key urban centres.
