Syrian army and SDF trade blame over escalation in Aleppo

Civilians take their belongings and leave after the PKK/YPG terrorist group (PKK listed as a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the U.S. and the EU and YPG which Turkiye consider as the extension of PKK in Syria) operating under the name of SDF shelled residential neighborhoods in Aleppo, Syria on January 08, 2026. [Stringer - Anadolu Agency]

The Syrian army and the Syrian Democratic Forces exchanged accusations on Wednesday over renewed escalation in the northern city of Aleppo, amid conflicting accounts of shelling, siege conditions and security developments in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighbourhoods. In a statement carried by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), the Syrian Ministry of Defence’s media department accused the SDF of targeting residential areas of Aleppo with mortar fire and heavy and medium machine guns, causing civilian casualties and damage to public and private property. The ministry also alleged that SDF forces prevented hundreds of residents from leaving the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighbourhoods by firing to intimidate them, and accused the group of planting mines on main and secondary roads […]