Syrian orders ceasefire and withdrawal in Aleppo neighborhoods
Shafaq News– Aleppo
The Syrian Ministry of Defense announced on Friday a ceasefire and set a deadline for armed groups to withdraw from several neighborhoods in Aleppo, as calm returned to the areas after days of clashes with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The ministry ordered an immediate halt to all gunfire in the neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud, Ashrafieh, and Bani Zaid starting at 3:00 a.m., citing the need to protect civilians and prevent further escalation inside densely populated areas.
It also called on armed groups in the three neighborhoods to begin withdrawing at the same time, setting 9:00 a.m. on the morning as the final deadline for their departure. Armed individuals leaving the areas will be allowed to carry only light personal weapons, while the Syrian Arab Army will secure their escort toward designated areas in northeastern Syria.
بيان بشأن التصعيد العسكري بمدينة حلب #الجمهورية_العربية_السورية #وزارة_الدفاع pic.twitter.com/5BDSmrWIPF
— وزارة الدفاع السورية (@Sy_Defense) January 9, 2026
Following the announcement, the state-run Al-Ikhbariyah reported a noticeable return of calm in the area.
مراسل الإخبارية: هدوء شبه تام يسود منطقة الأشرفية ومحيطها في حلب بعد بيان الجيش العربي السوري#الإخبارية_السورية pic.twitter.com/APcAJuF0qM
— الإخبارية السورية (@AlekhbariahSY) January 9, 2026
Aleppo’s Internal Security Chief, Mohammed Abdul Ghani, speaking in Ashrafieh, said clear instructions had been issued by the Interior Ministry for a rapid security deployment in both neighborhoods, noting that around 120,000 people had left Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud in less than 48 hours during the recent escalation, and Aleppo’s local administration is working to facilitate their return within 48 hours.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) had issued no comment on the ceasefire or the withdrawal arrangements.
Syria’s Health Ministry said the violence, which began on January 6, resulted in the deaths of four civilians and left 18 others wounded, with varying degrees of severity. Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that at least 21 people were killed overall.
The fighting began earlier this week between Syrian government forces and the US-backed, Kurdish-led SDF in Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city. Both sides have traded blame over who initiated the clashes, which come amid stalled efforts to implement a deal to integrate the Kurdish administration and military structures into the country’s new government.
Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh have remained under the control of Kurdish units linked to the SDF despite an earlier agreement in April under which Kurdish fighters were expected to withdraw from the two neighborhoods.
The SDF controls large areas of Syria’s oil-rich north and northeast and played a key role in the territorial defeat of the Islamic State group in Syria in 2019.
The Kurdish-led force has also been a central issue in regional tensions with Turkiye, which shares a roughly 900-kilometer border with Syria and has launched multiple military operations aimed at pushing Kurdish forces away from its frontier.
The Syrian Defense Ministry said the latest measures are intended to end the military situation in the affected neighborhoods, restore the authority of state institutions, and allow displaced residents to return under stable security conditions.
