ALEPPO, Syria: Following Kurdish parties’ rejection of a government demand that their troops evacuate as part of a ceasefire agreement, the Syrian army announced on Friday that it would advance into Aleppo’s final Kurdish-held sector.
As Syria attempts to rebuild after a horrific war, the bloodshed in Aleppo has highlighted one of the country’s primary faultlines: Kurdish forces are opposing attempts by President Ahmed Al-Sharaa’s Islamist-led administration to unify their warriors.
In Aleppo, where Kurdish forces are attempting to hold onto numerous areas they have controlled since the start of the conflict in 2011, at least nine civilians have died and over 140,000 have fled their homes.
However, in a statement, Kurdish councils in charge of Sheikh Maksoud and Ashrafiyah districts in Aleppo said that orders to evacuate were “a call to surrender” and that Kurdish forces would instead “defend their neighborhoods,” accusing government forces of heavy shelling. A few hours later, the Syrian army declared that the remaining Kurdish-held area of Sheikh Maksoud would be cleared militarily and that the deadline for Kurdish forces to leave had passed.
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