Heavy clashes broke out in Aleppo City on January 6 between the Kurdish Asayish and Syrian security forces after January 4 talks between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian Interim Government failed to advance implementation of the March 10, 2025, integration agreement.
The clashes have de facto ended the March 10 agreement. The agreement includes 8 points and was supposed to be implemented by the end of last year.
After 5 days of heavy fighting, Syrian government forces took over the Kurdish neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsud and Ashrafieh that had been in the hands of Kurdish forces since May 2012, when they expelled Assad regime forces. Since then, they have managed to keep rival Syrian rebel groups and the Assad regime out of the two neighborhoods until January 11 this year.
Although the ex-Al Qaida affiliate Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took most of Aleppo in early December 2024 in a few days, it decided to leave the two Kurdish neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiya alone and not attack the Kurdish forces there. Meanwhile, the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) took Tal Rifaat and Manbij in December.
According to a post of the former leader of Al-Nusra Front (the predecessor of the HTS), Saleh al-Hamawi, the HTS leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, wanted to avoid conflict with the SDF to secure American support. At that time, Al-Sharaa still had a $10 million bounty on his head, and sanctions on the HTS and Syria were still in place.
However, one year later, without any sanctions or terrorist designations placed on him, and a newly signed U.S. sponsored January 6, 2025, agreement with Israel, his hands were freer. Furthermore, 10 months passed, and the March 10, 2025, agreement was not implemented, with continued disagreements between the SDF and Damascus.
Turkish government media’s security sources claim that the Syrian Ministry of Defense planned a limited operation on January 5, 2026, after an SDF attack on a Syrian checkpoint. Still, Kurdish officials think the offensive was planned months before with Turkish support. Whatever the truth is, it is clear that it will now be more difficult to return to the negotiation table.
The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates on January 10 claimed that the intervention did “not constitute a military campaign, does not entail any demographic change, and does not target any population group on ethnic or religious grounds.” However, it was clear that it was a military campaign.
According to Hoshang Darwish, a member of the Presidential Council and representative of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, the Asayish in the two Kurdish neighborhoods of Aleppo were attacked by 42,000 fighters.
Among them were several factions nominally affiliated with the Syrian Ministry of Defense but, in practice, loyal to the state, such as the Turkish-backed factions al-Amshat, Sultan Murad Division, Sultan Shah Brigade, and Nour al-Din al-Zenki, as well as foreign fighters such as Uyghurs, Uzbeks, and Chechens. “Fighters from the Grey Wolves and ISIS were also seen. Dozens of tanks and armored vehicles were used, as well as Turkish Bayraktar drones and Grad and Katyusha rocket launchers,” he claimed.
According to a report of the Kurdish-led Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES), the attacks involved the Syrian Ministry of Defense Division 60, Division 76, Division 72, and Division 80.
Although these numbers (over 40,000 Syrian soldiers) sound very large, it is clear that the Syrian Arab Army had thousands of fighters that attacked the two Kurdish neighborhoods.
Furthermore, on April 1, 2025, a local agreement was signed in Aleppo between the local Kurdish council and the Aleppo administration, according to which the SDF completed a phased military withdrawal from the city, relocating hundreds of fighters east of the Euphrates River. In April 2025, approximately 980 Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters withdrew from Aleppo in two initial phases. This withdrawal severely weakened Kurdish defenses.
“There was a very limited number of the Asayish forces within the neighborhood who wanted to protect the civilian population against the assaults,” Elham Ahmed, co-chair of the Foreign Relations Department of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), told reporters on January 13.
Darwish said he does not have precise figures on the number of Asayish forces stationed in Sheikh Maqsoud, but it was not a large force, estimated at around 300 Asayish (Internal Security Forces) fighters.
He added, “They did not have heavy weapons; most of what they had were Kalashnikov rifles and BKC machine guns. Had the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) not withdrawn, the course of the battle would have been different. They would not have been able to take control of the two neighborhoods, or at least it would have taken much longer.”
The Asayish also used drones in Aleppo and had snipers stationed.
According to senior Kurdish official Ilham Ahmed, 47 civilians lost their lives, and 103 were injured in these two Kurdish neighborhoods in the five days of fighting. On the other hand, the Syrian government’s Aleppo Health Directorate suggests 23 people were killed, with 104 others injured, between Tuesday and Saturday on the government side, which would mean a total of 70 civilians were killed on both sides.
According to Syria expert Gregory Waters, at least 39 Syrian government soldiers were killed during the five-day battle, while it is unknown how many Asayish were killed, but their commander fought until the end. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), 21 members of the Internal Security Forces (Asayish) and 38 members of the Syrian Ministry of Defence were killed.
The question now is how to move forward with Damascus and the SDF. The US and other international partners have emphasized the urgent need for the immediate implementation of the March 10, 2025, agreement. Recently, Syrian Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa gave an interview to the Kurdish-funded Shams TV, which the channel ultimately decided not to broadcast due to a huge outrage among Kurds over interviewing him after the massive displacement of Kurdish civilians in Aleppo.
Sham’s director said they made this decision not to broadcast the interview because Sharaa adopted escalatory language and sought to use the platform to attack the SDF, which indicates that Damascus will take a harder line. Moreover, senior SDF Commander Sipan Hemo recently told the Kurdish Ronahi TV that they will reevaluate the recent events. There will certainly be an official assessment, and whatever the correct approach is will come to the fore.”
The senior Kurdish foreign relations official Elham Ahmed added that they were attacked despite the March 10 and April 1 agreements. “Today there is bloodshed between us, and it makes the situation very heavy and difficult, but as I mentioned, we are for negotiation and dialogue.” However, she said the security of civilians living in Sheikh Maqsoud, Ashrafiya, and Afrin should be guaranteed. “If this happens, we are ready to continue the negotiation and dialogue.”
What also complicated talks, that after Aleppo, since January 13, Damascus has continued to attack the SDF in Deir Hafer with heavy artillery and drones, and Damascus has sent in thousands of reinforcements to eastern Aleppo, which indicates it might try to take more territory. So far, they have not made a serious attempt to take the town, but they might do so in the near future. Furthermore, Damascus has appointed a security chief for the Kurdish city of Kobani, which might indicate Damascus has aspirations to take the town.
Nevertheless, the Autonomous Administration on Thursday called on Damascus to return to the negotiation table, after U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham on Wednesday warned Damascus not to attack Kurdish allies. Moreover, the Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, while calling the SDF presence in Deir Hafer illegal, said they prefer a peaceful solution. “We hope the crisis between the Syrian government and the SDF can be resolved peacefully, away from military options,” Fidan said. Meanwhile, the Autonomous Administration said it “remains ready to return to discussing all issues through dialogue and mutual understanding. Ahmed also warned that, “if the Syrian government insists on war, the conflict will create chaos, which will not be limited to Syria. It will also reach Iraq, Turkey, and all the other countries in the region.” Yet, it remains to be seen whether conflict breaks out.
Image source: SGT Arjenis Nunez, Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve; available at: https://www.dvidshub.net/image/4970515/sdf-soldiers-plus-up-weapons-and-patrol-skills
