Kurdish Forces Withdraw from Aleppo Following Ceasefire Agreement

Withdrawal of Kurdish Forces from Aleppo

The last Kurdish fighters have left the Syrian city of Aleppo after a ceasefire agreement was announced on Sunday morning. Mazloum Abdi, leader of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), stated that the agreement was achieved through international mediation, ensuring the safe evacuation of "martyrs, the wounded, trapped civilians, and fighters" from the city. Buses carrying the final members of the SDF were seen departing the predominantly Kurdish neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsoud, according to local media reports.

The recent conflict in Aleppo began earlier in the week after negotiations to integrate the Kurds into the new Syrian government reached an impasse. At least 12 people have been killed in the recent wave of violence, causing tens of thousands of civilians to flee from Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods. The Syrian army bombarded the area on Wednesday afternoon, designating the neighborhoods as "closed military zones" in response to what it claimed were attacks from armed groups in the region. The SDF, which insists it has no military presence in Aleppo, labeled the situation a "criminal attempt" to force the displacement of residents.

A ceasefire was raised earlier in the week, but Kurdish forces refused to leave the last stronghold of Sheikh Maqsoud as part of the agreement. In March 2025, the SDF, which controls much of northeastern Syria and has tens of thousands of fighters, signed an agreement for the integration of all military and civilian institutions into the Syrian state. Both sides have accused each other of attempting to sabotage the negotiations, leaving the agreement unfulfilled nearly a year later.

The new version of the ceasefire agreement was mediated by the U.S. and other global powers, amid concerns that the stalemate in Aleppo could provoke Turkish involvement. Turkey supports the Syrian government and considers the Kurdish militants dominating the SDF a terrorist organization. In a post on X on Saturday, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack, stated that he met with the Syrian president and urged all parties to "exercise maximum restraint, cease hostilities immediately, and return to dialogue" in line with the March agreement.