Hundreds flee Aleppo as Syrian Army shells Kurdish neighbourhoods

At least 12 people have been killed and several others injured after clashes erupted between the Syrian interim government and the Kurdish forces in a contested area of the northern city of Aleppo in North East Syria on Wednesday.

Hundreds of civilians fled the predominantly ethnic Kurdish majority neighbourhoods of  Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh, when the military opened two corridors for civilians to leave the area that had witnessed deadly violence a day earlier. The Syrian army had shelled the two neighbourhoods on Wednesday after designating them as “closed military areas.” The shelling in the neighbourhoods began after the Syrian military defence gave people time till 3 pm to leave. The attacks began when more than 850 people left the two  neighbourhoods. According to the Syrian interim government, the operation was carried out in response to the attacks by armed groups in the areas. “It was solely aimed at preserving security,” the government authorities said.

A few of the civilians whom THE WEEK reached out to, over the phone, called it “a deadly attack.” The residents feared that it could turn into a full-fledged war sometime. “The shelling is very intense. My children could not withstand the attacks, the sound of the shelling. I chose to stay inside a mosque for the past two days. But could not continue being there. There are no shelters available there. So I chose to leave with my three children,” said Alam Amed Musa over the phone from Aleppo. Musa has left Aleppo with the hope to reach one of his relatives' place at Qamishli. “But Qamishli is very far from here,” he lamented over the phone.

According to the Foreign Affairs Department of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES), the Syrian interim government has announced war on the heavily populated neighbourhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh, a war of extermination against the Kurds who have been subjected to oppression by the previous regime. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) authorities said the majority of the civilians who have faced the violent attacks are the IDPs from Afrini, which is already under a suffocating siege by factions affiliated with the ministry of the interim government under President Al Shaara.

“Although the authorities of the neighbourhoods have adhered to the April 1st agreement, the interim government has not. We have made substantial efforts to engage in the negotiations, but the ministry of defence refuses dialogue. We call upon the officials of the government to assume their responsibilities for what is happening in the neighbourhoods and to pursue a realistic and sustainable resolution for the problems through dialogue, avoiding war and violence. The Syrian people have suffered enough from wars. We urge all Syrians, especially Syrian youth, to reject violence, stand  for justice, and renounce war,” said Elham Ahmad, co-chair of the department of foreign relations of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of the North and East Syria (DAANES) region.

The SDF had apparently signed a deal with the leadership in Damascus under President  Ahmed al-Shaara in March last year to merge the SDF with the Syrian army by the end of  2025. However, this did not happen as there have been divided opinions within the SDF. The SDF won autonomy in the region, around 13 years after a civil war, and it also fought ISIS in the region. But a section of the SDF is reluctant to a merger with the Syrian military. And the latest attacks, sources say, could invite risks of Turkey once again getting into the region and backing the government. Turkey considers the Kurdish militia, which dominates the SDF, as a terrorist organisation.

The attacks and the violence now underscore the several divisions and challenges in the region in arriving at a lasting peace.