Syrian Defense Ministry announces ceasefire in Aleppo neighborhoods

The Syrian Defense Ministry announced Friday that a ceasefire would begin at 3 am local time in the Ashrafieh Sheikh Maqsoud and Bani Zeid neighborhoods in the northern city of Aleppo, after establishing control in the districts.

The ministry has given armed groups until 9 am Friday to leave the neighborhoods to end the military situation, according to a ministry communique published by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).

The statement came after the Interior Ministry said internal security forces began deploying to the Ashrafieh neighborhood on Thursday, following the withdrawal of the PKK/YPG terror group operating under the name SDF.

The deployment came after a large number of SDF members defected in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods, while others fled.

The army began heavy and focused shelling of SDF positions in Aleppo early Thursday in retaliation for attacks by the group that killed at least nine civilians and injured dozens.

On March 10, 2025, the Syrian presidency announced the signing of an agreement for the SDF's integration into state institutions, reaffirming the country's territorial unity and rejecting any attempts at division.

Authorities said in the months since, the SDF has not shown any efforts to meet the terms of the agreement.

The government has intensified efforts to maintain security across the country since the ouster of Bashar al-Assad's regime on Dec. 8, 2024, after 24 years in power.