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Syrian government forces have regained control of some districts in Aleppo that were held by Kurdish fighters after the rebel group withdrew from parts of the country’s largest city. 

The government sources on Sunday confirmed that the last of the Kurdish forces present in Aleppo, along with dozens of civilians, had been ferried out on buses after a ceasefire between the government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) was agreed upon. 

The ceasefire came into effect late on Saturday after US Special Envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, met with Syria’s President Ahmad al-Sharaa and other top officials in Damascus.

He called on both sides to end the conflict and allow peace to return to these neighbourhoods, saying in a post on X that “violence risks undermining the progress achieved since the fall of the Assad regime and invites external interference that serves no party’s interests”.

 

Also Read: Fighting resumes in Aleppo hours after ceasefire

Urging all parties to “exercise maximum restraint, immediately cease hostilities, and return to dialogue,” Barrack said Washington is committed to protecting a unified Syria with peaceful coexistence “where justice, equality and opportunity become available to all people”.

Fighting stopped between the two sides after days of clashes that killed nearly 22 people and displaced more than 1,40,000. However, violence was reported to have resumed amid tensions over the integration of Kurdish militia fighters into a new military structure backed by Washington. 

With Syrian government forces deployed in the neighbourhoods held by Kurdish fighters after nearly 14 years since the deadly civil war began in the country, it was a historic moment for the government under al-Sharaa, who aimed to take back control of these areas.

After the ceasefire, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi had also posted on X: “Through international mediation to halt the attacks and violations against our people in Aleppo, we have reached an understanding leading to a ceasefire and the safe evacuation of martyrs, the wounded, trapped civilians, and fighters from the Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhoods to northern and eastern Syria.”

He urged the mediators to “uphold their promises to stop the violations and work towards the safe return of the displaced to their homes”.