The Syrian army said on Wednesday that a limited military operation was launched against the U.S.-backed YPG terrorist group. The statement follows another where two neighborhoods of Aleppo were declared "closed military zones." The army also created humanitarian corridors for civilians to leave.
In an earlier statement, the army said, "The Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods will be considered closed military zones after 3 p.m. today.”
The YPG opened fire on civilians attempting to leave the neighborhood, Syrian media reported.
Alikhbariya TV said YPG terrorists fired shots in an effort to prevent civilians from leaving the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh.
The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said terrorists were preventing residents seeking to flee the two neighborhoods from reaching the humanitarian corridors announced by the Syrian army. According to SANA, the corridors are located in the al-Awarid area and Zuhur Street and were designated to allow the safe exit of civilians amid YPG attacks.
The Syrian Civil Defense earlier said that it had evacuated 850 civilians from Aleppo as of 12.30 p.m. local time (9:30 a.m. GMT), citing deteriorating humanitarian conditions and shelling by the YPG.
On Wednesday, sporadic clashes between government troops and the YPG continued following two days of major violence between the opposing sides, killing at least nine people.
The violence caused the suspension of flights to and from Aleppo's airport, with schools, universities and government offices in the city shut down.
Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh have remained under the control of the YPG, despite the group agreeing to withdraw from the areas in April.
The YPG controls swathes of Syria's oil-rich north and northeast, with the backing of a U.S.-led international coalition.
The March agreement on the YPG’s integration into the state was supposed to be implemented by the end of 2025.
The YPG is pushing for decentralized rule, an idea Syria's new authorities have rejected.
