In the narrow streets of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyya, two long-troubled neighborhoods near the heart of Aleppo, the sounds of daily life are beginning to return. Vendors call out to passersby, car horns echo through the streets, and residents linger outside shops, small but meaningful signs of normalcy after years of conflict and fear.
The neighborhoods were brought back under Syrian government control on Jan. 10, ending years of occupation by the YPG. For residents who endured isolation, shortages and insecurity, the change has been palpable.
“These streets were once silent,” said Duha Salahaddin Ammuri, a dental assistant who lives in Sheikh Maqsoud. “Now people are returning to their homes. Security has been established, and the situation is under control.”
Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyya are home to low-income Syrians from diverse backgrounds, including Christians, Kurds and families displaced from other parts of the country during the civil war. Many sought refuge there after fleeing violence elsewhere in Aleppo, only to find themselves trapped again as the area became a fortified stronghold.
The scars of war remain visible. Buildings bear damage from earlier attacks, and makeshift fortifications, sandbags stacked along walls and windows, still line some streets. Tangled electrical cables stretch between buildings, a reminder of years of unreliable services and improvised solutions.
Yet residents say conditions have improved noticeably since the neighborhoods were secured. Electricity and water have returned, and movement in and out of the area is no longer restricted.
“In the past, we couldn’t leave the neighborhood, and there was no electricity or water,” Ammuri said. “Now we live on one land again.”
She described a renewed sense of coexistence among residents, emphasizing solidarity across ethnic lines. “We love our Kurdish neighbors,” she said. “We always tell them, ‘If anyone bothers you, let us know.’”
For many, the greatest change is the easing of fear. Veys Halil Mahmud, another resident, said daily life had once been dominated by anxiety.
“We used to live in constant fear,” he said. “Now security has been provided, and services are reaching the area. We hope it will get even better.”
Mahmud noted that during the years of occupation, residents felt neglected and cut off. “Nothing was provided,” he said. “No one cared about our problems.”
Local businesses are also beginning to recover. Hamid Gazal, who runs a small restaurant in the neighborhood, said he and his family fled to Sheikh Maqsoud years ago after attacks elsewhere in Aleppo.
“Before, we lived waiting for a bomb to fall or something terrible to happen,” he said. “The situation is much better now.”
Despite the improvements, uncertainty lingers. Some residents declined to speak publicly, worried that remnants of the armed group could target civilians, as has happened in other areas previously retaken by government forces. Concerns about possible attacks using explosives remain fresh in people’s minds.
Residents say their priorities are clear: lasting security and the restoration of basic services. They are calling on the authorities to address infrastructure needs, including electricity, water, health care, education and internet access.
Ammuri said reconstruction is not only a government responsibility but a national one. Having grown up amid conflict, she believes Syrians now share a duty to rebuild.
“Our childhood was full of crisis,” she said. “Now building a new Syria is our responsibility.”
She called on Syrians abroad to return and contribute to rebuilding efforts, expressing cautious optimism about reforms and improvements, even in her own line of work.
For now, the return of everyday routines, shopping, working and gathering in public, offers residents a sense of hope. In neighborhoods long defined by conflict, the quiet resilience of daily life is once again taking hold.
