The Syrian army said on Friday it would target areas in Aleppo’s Sheikh Maksoud and urged residents to leave, state media reported, after Kurdish groups rejected ceasefire terms declared by Damascus that require their fighters to withdraw from the city.
Kurdish councils in Syria's Aleppo said on Friday they would not evacuate neighbourhoods under their control as part of a ceasefire deal to end days of fighting between Kurdish forces and Syrian government fighters.
In a statement published by Syrian Kurdish outlets, the local councils of the Ashrafiyah and Sheikh Maksoud districts said calls to leave Aleppo were "a call to surrender" and that Kurdish forces would instead "defend their neighbourhoods".
Earlier, the Syrian Defense Ministry announced a ceasefire, calling on "armed groups" to leave the aforementioned areas by a deadline of 9 a.m. on Friday, Syria's official news agency SANA reported.
"To prevent any slide towards a new military escalation within residential neighborhoods, the Defense Ministry announces ... a ceasefire in the vicinity of the Sheikh Maqsoud, Alashrafieh, and Bani Zeid neighbourhoods of Aleppo, effective from 3:00 a.m.," the ministry announced.
The Syrian Arab Army would "escort" any "departing militants," ensuring their "safety" until they reach the northeastern parts of Syria, the ministry said.
However, any "departing militants" will only be allowed to carry "their personal light weapons."
A fierce exchange of fire extended into the night, with rescue workers scrambling to extinguish fires ignited by shelling, before the defense ministry said it would give armed groups a six-hour window to leave the contested areas.
The deadly stand-off between Damascus and Kurdish authorities, who have resisted integrating into the central government, is a major challenge for Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has pledged to unite the country after 14 years of civil war.
Earlier, Plumes of smoke rose above the city skyline at dusk, and the boom of artillery could be heard across Aleppo as the Kurdish fighters tried to repel the troops' advance and cling to neighborhoods under their control.
The fighting, which erupted on Tuesday, has driven more than 140,000 people from their homes and left at least seven civilians dead, according to Syrian authorities.
The Kurdish forces, including the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Asayish, or internal security forces, said they had pushed back Syrian troops' attacks.
Ceasefire comes after US pressure for mediation
The United States on Thursday called for an end to clashes between government troops and Kurdish fighters in Aleppo, saying it was gravely concerned by the situation.
Tom Barrack, Trump's special envoy for Syria, said the United States and its allies were ready to help efforts to de-escalate tensions between government troops and Kurdish forces, which include the SDF.
SDF head Mazloum Abdi said the government forces' strikes and deployment of tanks had undermined "the chances of reaching understandings, create conditions for dangerous demographic changes, and expose civilians trapped in the two neighborhoods to the risk of massacres."
Two government officials told Reuters that negotiations were underway over the withdrawal of Kurdish forces from the city.
In a statement, the Syrian government said stability could not be achieved with weapons outside the authority of the state, adding the only solution was the return of government control to "preserve the unity of Syria."
The Asayish, in a written statement, denied that its forces had requested safe passage and called instead on the Damascus government to withdraw its forces.
Turkey said it stood ready to help Syria if asked.
"The attacks carried out against civilians in Aleppo have unfortunately exacerbated concerns about the true intentions of the SDF and created a pessimistic picture regarding peace efforts," Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told a joint press conference with his Omani counterpart on Thursday.
"The SDF's insistence on protecting what it has at all costs is the biggest obstacle to achieving peace and stability in Syria," Fidan added.
Turkey views the US-backed SDF, which controls swathes of northeastern Syria, as a terrorist organization and has warned of military action if the group does not honor the integration agreement.
The Kurdistan Regional Government's Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said he was deeply concerned by attacks on Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo, warning that targeting civilians and attempts to alter the area's demography amounted to what he described as ethnic cleansing.
The SDF said Damascus's evacuation warnings ahead of shelling could amount to forced displacement and war crimes under international humanitarian law.
Kurdish-led authorities established a semi-autonomous administration in northeast Syria and parts of Aleppo during Syria's 14-year war and have resisted fully integrating into the Islamist-led government that took power after former president Bashar al-Assad was ousted in late 2024.
Damascus reached a deal with the SDF last year that envisaged full integration by the end of 2025, but progress has been limited, with both sides accusing the other of stalling.
The US has sought to mediate, holding meetings as recently as Sunday, though those talks ended without tangible results.