Syria declares area west of Euphrates River a military zone

Syria declares the area west of the Euphrates River, occupied by the YPG/SDF terror group, a military zone, demanding that all armed elements withdraw to the east.

In a written statement to local media, the Syrian army said that the YPG/SDG terror group, along with PKK terrorists and remnants of the former Assad regime, continue to amass forces in the occupied territories west of the Euphrates.

The statement added that these occupied areas have been used to launch attacks on Aleppo with kamikaze drones.

As the terrorist organization is both amassing forces in these areas and using them to target Aleppo with drone attacks, the army declared the occupied areas west of the Euphrates a military zone and asked terrorist elements to withdraw to the east of the Euphrates River, it also said.

A map released alongside the statement highlighted regions including Meskene and Deir Hafir, urging civilians to stay away from sites controlled by the terrorist organization.

Since last week, the SDF has shelled residential neighborhoods, civilian facilities, and Syrian Army positions in Aleppo, killing 24 people, wounding nearly 130, and displacing about 165,000 residents from the Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud districts, according to official figures.

In March 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.

In April 2025, Syrian authorities signed an agreement with the SDF concerning the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods, stipulating that both districts would be considered administrative parts of the city of Aleppo while respecting their local particularities.

The agreement also included provisions to ban armed manifestations, restrict weapons to internal security forces, and require the withdrawal of SDF to areas east of the Euphrates River in northeastern Syria.

But authorities said that in the months since, the SDF has not shown any efforts to meet the terms of the agreements.

The Syrian government has intensified efforts to maintain security across the country since the ouster of the Assad regime in December 2024, after 24 years in power.