Jan 9, 2026, 6:49 p.mJan 9, 2026, 6:49 p.m
Syrian security forces in Aleppo. January 9, 2026.Image: keystone
After a brief ceasefire, heavy fighting broke out again between Syrian government troops and Kurdish fighters in the Syrian city of Aleppo.
The Kurds accused the troops of interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and their allied militias of coming under heavy fire on the Kurdish district of Sheikh Maksud in Aleppo. Accordingly, tanks and artillery were used in the attacks on the densely populated district. At the same time, they claimed to have killed government fighters.
Situation “escalated dramatically”
The Kurdish statements were confirmed by the independent Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Accordingly, the only hospital in the area is said to have been affected by the shelling.
The situation had “escalated dramatically,” said the head of the UK-based observation center of the German Press Agency. According to his information, hospital employees were also killed by supporters of the transitional government in another Kurdish district of Aleppo.
The ceasefire was short-lived
The state-controlled Sana news agency quoted a statement from the Syrian Defense Ministry saying that armed groups had been identified in Sheikh Maksud. These are criminals, including supporters of long-term ruler Bashar al-Assad, who was overthrown a year ago, as well as people with connections to the banned Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) and from abroad, according to the statement.
The fighting in Aleppo that has been going on for days is considered the heaviest since the fall of al-Assad. There was a ceasefire for a few hours on Friday night. According to the government, this was intended to encourage a voluntary withdrawal of Kurdish fighters from the city of over a million inhabitants. However, the Kurdish side emphasized that they had no plans to withdraw.
According to the UN, around 30,000 people have been displaced as a result of the clashes. Sana has already reported 140,000 displaced people. According to both sides, there were deaths.
Kurds distrust Islamist leadership in Damascus
Large parts of northeast Syria are still controlled by the Kurdish-dominated militia SDF (Syrian Defense Forces). They played a leading role in the fight against the Islamic State terrorist militia and were a close ally of the USA. In Aleppo, the influence of Kurdish militias is limited to minority-dominated neighborhoods. But the government no longer wants to tolerate this.
According to an agreement with Damascus last spring, the SDF was supposed to be integrated into the new Syrian armed forces and hand over control of areas that are economically important because of their oil reserves to the government. But that hasn’t happened yet.
The Kurds fear being repressed again by the Islamist leadership in Damascus. They therefore prefer a decentralized government system so as not to lose their rights again. The leadership in Damascus, on the other hand, wants to build a centralized state with the argument of striving for unity after years of division.
Von der Leyen promises a package worth millions when visiting Damascus
Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa assured the Kurds’ rights without discrimination in a telephone conversation with the Kurdish politician Masoud Barzani, as Sana reported.
The former leader of the Islamist militia HTS (Haiat Tahrir al-Sham) received EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President António Costa for a visit to Damascus on Friday.
According to von der Leyen, the EU wants to provide around 620 million euros for Syria in 2026 and 2027. The package is necessary to support the government in restoring basic services to the population and rebuilding state institutions.
The EU also hopes that once the country is stabilized, hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees in the EU will one day be able to return to their homeland. They want Syrian refugees to have real prospects of returning home and having a new start, said von der Leyen. However, recent developments in Aleppo are likely to raise doubts as to whether this will succeed. (sda/dpa)