The Syrian government has called for the withdrawal of the YPG terror group from residential neighbourhoods in the northern city of Aleppo, saying its continued military presence threatens civilian lives and undermines prospects for stability.
In a statement on Thursday carried by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), the government said the Syrian state had secured and protected displaced civilians, including Kurdish residents alongside Arab families, providing shelter and basic services as part of its national and humanitarian responsibility to ensure their safe and dignified return to their homes.
YPG is the Syrian branch of the terror group PKK.
In its terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK, listed as a terrorist organisation by Türkiye, the US and the EU, has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children, infants, and the elderly.
The current “chaos and field escalation” is a direct result of the YPG’s breach of an agreed-upon agreement, the government said, stressing that the violation disrupted earlier understandings and opened the door to renewed tensions and instability.
Damascus said it is “clearly” demanding the removal of the terror group from the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighbourhoods and the end of “a military situation that endangers civilians and obstructs any serious political solution.”
Syrian authorities also announced a curfew in six Aleppo neighbourhoods.
The internal security command in Aleppo, in a statement, announced "a full curfew" in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh districts and four nearby neighbourhoods, "starting this evening until further notice".
On March 10, 2025, the Syrian presidency announced the signing of an agreement for the SDF’s integration into state institutions, reaffirming the country's territorial unity and rejecting any attempts at division.
Syrian authorities say that in the months since, the SDFhas not shown any efforts to meet the terms of the agreement.
