Syria Says Aleppo Sweep Nears Completion as Reports Emerge of Kurdish Withdrawal

Overview

• Interior Ministry officials say the operation in Aleppo has entered its final stage, with engineering teams demining secured areas in Ashrafiya and Sheikh Maqsud.
• State TV reported that about 350 SDF fighters left Sheikh Maqsud by bus toward the northeast, though other accounts contest that all units have departed.
• The Health Ministry raised the toll to 24 civilians killed and at least 129 wounded since January 6 following drone strikes and subsequent clashes.
• A January 9 ceasefire required Kurdish formations to leave Sheikh Maqsud, Ashrafiya and Bani-Zaid with only personal light arms, but officials say some fighters refused and opened fire.
• Both sides issue dueling drone claims, with SANA blaming SDF for strikes that wounded civilians and the SDF denying fire on residential areas while alleging Turkish drones aided government forces; Turkey’s Hürriyet reports a larger operation east of the Euphrates is being considered for February if integration falters.