Shafaq News– Damascus
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Commander Mazloum Abdi announced on Friday the withdrawal of his forces from areas east of Aleppo, in line with the terms of the March agreement reached with the Syrian government in Damascus.
In a post on X, Abdi said the decision followed calls from “friendly countries and mediators” and was intended as a goodwill gesture to complete the integration process and uphold the provisions of the March 10 agreement.
“Based on these calls, and in commitment to implementing the agreement, we have decided to withdraw our forces tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. from the current contact lines east of Aleppo, which have been under attack for the past two days,” Abdi stated, clarifying that SDF forces would redeploy to areas east of the Euphrates River.
بناء على دعوات من الدول الصديقة والوسطاء، وإبداءنا لحسن النية في إتمام عملية الدمج والالتزام بتنفيذ بنود اتفاقية العاشر من آذار، قررنا سحب قواتنا غدا صباحاً الساعة 7. من مناطق التماس الحالية شرقي حلب والتي تتعرض لهجمات منذ يومين، وذلك نحو إعادة تموضع في مناطق شرق الفرات.
— Mazloum Abdî مظلوم عبدي (@MazloumAbdi) January 16, 2026
Syrian government forces launched a heavy bombardment against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the Deir Hafer area, east of Aleppo, targeting several positions with artillery shelling and missiles.
Earlier, a military delegation from the US-led Global Coalition met with leaders SDF to discuss de-escalation efforts in the town of Deir Hafer. Shafaq News correspondent reported that the Coalition delegation inspected sites that had been subjected to shelling and conducted an assessment of the extent of damage in the area.
Since last December, Aleppo has seen escalating security tensions that have left at least 24 people dead and around 129 others injured, according to the city’s Health Directorate. The clashes also forced more than 165,000 people to leave their homes.
Sheikh Maqsoud and the adjacent Ashrafieh district, both estimated to be around 80% Kurdish, remained under Kurdish control for years and were home to tens of thousands of civilians, before recently coming under the control of Syrian authorities.