Syrian AANES sets terms for Aleppo pullback
Shafaq News– Aleppo (Updated at 10:15)
The Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), the civilian authority backed on the ground by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), conditioned any redeployment of its forces from Aleppo on guarantees of local security and self-administration, as international mediation seeks to contain renewed clashes.
In a statement on Saturday, Elham Ahmad, co-chair of AANES’s Department of Foreign Relations, said protecting civilians in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh –where the clashes are concentrated– remained the administration’s “top priority,” welcoming proposals by international mediators to reposition forces east of the Euphrates.
Any move, she added, must ensure the continued presence of local Kurdish security forces and locally elected councils in the two districts, in line with an agreement reached on April 1.
إلى الرأي العام نحن في الادارة الذاتية لشمال وشرق سوريا نؤكّد بان حماية المدنيين في حيي الشيخ مقصود و الأشرفية هي من أولوياتنا القصوى، لذلك نرحب بعرض القوى الدولية الوسيطة بإعادة تموضع القوات الموجودة في شيخ مقصود الى شرق الفرات و ذلك بشكل آمن،شريطة أن يضمن وجود حماية كردية…
— Elham Ahmad (@ElhamAhmadSDC) January 9, 2026
State-run SANA reported that Syrian army units arrested several SDF members during the clashes and seized heavy and medium weapons and explosives.
The arrests followed fighting earlier this week between Syrian government forces and Kurdish-led units in Aleppo, which disrupted a US-backed arrangement for the withdrawal of Kurdish Interior Security Forces from the neighborhoods. The General Council of the districts, however, has rejected withdrawal, warning that ongoing attacks aim to forcibly displace residents and alter Aleppo’s demographic composition.
Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh, estimated to be about 80% Kurdish, are home to tens of thousands of civilians, have remained under Kurdish control for years. Repeated ceasefires in the districts have collapsed in the past, prompting renewed diplomatic efforts to prevent further violence and displacement.
