Syrian Army says SDF escalation entered ‘dangerous phase’ in Aleppo

ISTANBUL

The Syrian Army said on Saturday that the terrorist organization YPG/SDF has entered a new “dangerous phase” of military escalation after attacking the northern city of Aleppo and its civilian institutions, mosques, and public facilities with more than 10 Iranian-made drones.

In a statement carried by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), the army’s Operations Command said the SDF attacks caused civilian injuries and significant material damage.

In response to the escalation, the statement added, the Syrian Army struck the launch sites of the drones “using appropriate means,” and succeeded in destroying a number of heavy tracked and wheeled vehicles belonging to the SDF at one of its positions.

The army described the action as “an initial response” to the recent SDF attacks.

The Operations Command warned that military operations will not stop at this level, stressing that subsequent stages of the response “will take place at the appropriate time and location.”

Syrian authorities began to transfer surrounded members of the SDF in Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood to the northern city of Tabqah in Raqqa province on Saturday following a suspension of military operations in the area.

Since Tuesday, the SDF has shelled residential neighborhoods, civilian facilities, and Syrian Army positions in Aleppo. The attacks have killed 23 people and wounded over 100 others and triggered the displacement of about 165,000 residents from the Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud districts.

In March 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.

In April 2025, Syrian authorities signed an agreement with the SDF concerning the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods, stipulating that both districts would be considered administrative parts of the city of Aleppo while respecting their local particularities.

The agreement also included provisions to ban armed manifestations, restrict weapons to internal security forces, and require the withdrawal of SDF military forces to areas east of the Euphrates River in northeastern Syria.

But authorities said that in the months since, the SDF has not shown any efforts to meet the terms of the agreements.

The Syrian government has intensified efforts to maintain security across the country since the ouster of the Assad regime in December 2024, after 24 years in power.