UPDATE - Detainees escape from prison in SDF-held area in Syria’s Aleppo amid escalation

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS

By Mohammad Sio

ISTANBUL (AA) – Detainees escaped from a prison in an area controlled by the PKK/YPG terrorist groups operating under the name of SDF in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, amid escalation by the group in the area, the SANA news agency reported on Wednesday.

A Syrian security source told SANA that prisoners fled from a jail in the Al-Shaqif area, which is under SDF control.

He did not specify the number of escapees.

Separately, the Syrian Civil Defense said it evacuated 850 civilians from Aleppo as of 12.30 pm local time (0930GMT), citing deteriorating humanitarian conditions and shelling by the SDF.

The evacuation was carried out through two assembly points in the Al-Awarid area and Zuhur Street, as increasing numbers of residents fled nearby neighborhoods hit by SDF shelling, the agency said.

The Aleppo Internal Transport Company said it placed all its technical and human resources on full alert, with its bus fleet operating at full capacity to transport affected residents and displaced people from impacted areas to temporary shelters.

The company said the measures aim to ensure civilians’ safety and help ease their suffering amid the ongoing events.

The developments came as the Syrian army said that military positions of the SDF in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods of Aleppo are “legitimate targets” following the group’s escalation and “massacres” in the province.

It came after the SDF renewed shelling of residential neighborhoods in Aleppo for the second day on Wednesday morning, a day after at least five people were killed and 16 others injured in a series of attacks by SDF in Aleppo on Tuesday.

The army’s Operations Authority said the two neighborhoods would be treated as closed military zones after 3 pm local time (1200GMT), calling on civilians to stay away from SDF positions and announcing a complete ban on movement in the two areas as of that time.

On March 10, 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.

Syrian authorities say that in the months since, the SDF has not shown any efforts to meet the terms of the agreement.