Syrian government demands SDF withdrawal from Aleppo neighborhoods

ISTANBUL

The Syrian government on Thursday called for the withdrawal of the PKK/YPG terrorist group operating under the name of SDF from residential neighborhoods in the northern city of Aleppo, saying its continued military presence threatens civilian lives and undermines prospects for stability.

In a statement 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, with the aim of ensuring their safe and dignified return to their homes.

The current “chaos and field escalation” is a direct result of the SDF’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 “militia forces” from the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods and the end of “a military situation that endangers civilians and obstructs any serious political solution.”