Kurdish councils reject government demands to leave Aleppo neighborhoods
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The Kurdish neighborhood councils in Aleppo announced on Friday their rejection of demands by the Syrian government to evacuate residents from Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh districts.
In a statement, the councils said the “Syrian Interim Government carries out these attacks under the name of the New Syrian Army, with support from Turkey and its affiliated factions, and derives its boldness from that.”
The councils strongly condemned what they described as the silence of international powers that acted as guarantors and observers of the March 10 and April 1 agreements.
They added that calls by the Syrian Transitional Government forces for residents and local security units to surrender were unacceptable. “Our people in these neighborhoods are determined to remain in their homes and defend them,” the statement read.
According to the councils, the demands include the surrender of local security forces and the removal of residents from their neighborhoods. “It is impossible for us to retreat from protecting our neighborhoods. We have decided to stay and defend them,” they said.
Meanwhile, Syria’s state-run al-Ikhbariya TV, citing government sources, reported that the Internal Security Forces, in coordination with the Operations Board of the Syrian Arab Army, were preparing to open a safe corridor for the withdrawal of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from Sheikh Maqsoud toward northeast Syria.
The channel added that buses had begun entering Sheikh Maqsoud to transport SDF members toward the northeast.
The situation remains tense in Aleppo’s Kurdish neighborhoods, with residents and local councils insisting on their right to remain despite mounting pressure.