UPDATE - Syrian Army sends reinforcements to eastern Aleppo amid tensions with SDF

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS, ADDS DECK

By Tarek Chouiref and Mohammad Sio

ISTANBUL (AA) – The Syrian Army on Wednesday deployed additional military reinforcements to the eastern countryside of Aleppo, amid rising tensions with the terrorist organization YPG/SDF and remnants of the former regime, according to Syrian media.

SANA news agency reported that reinforcements were sent from the coastal province of Latakia to the Deir Hafer area in eastern Aleppo, without providing further details.

The army’s Operations Command said in a statement that a humanitarian corridor will be opened for residents in eastern Aleppo via Hamimeh village along the M15 highway, the main road linking Deir Hafer and Aleppo, according to Alikhbariah TV.

It urged civilians to stay away from all positions of the terrorist organization YPG/SDF.

The army said it will take a number of measures “to eliminate any threat to the security of the area and its residents.”

The measures come after the army earlier detected the arrival of more armed groups affiliated with SDF and former regime elements near the towns of Maskanah and Deir Hafer, prompting a strengthened military presence in the area.

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

In March 2025, the Syrian presidency announced 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 a separate agreement concerning the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods, stipulating that both districts remain administrative parts of Aleppo city while respecting their local particularities.

The agreement included provisions banning armed manifestations, restricting weapons to internal security forces, and requiring the withdrawal of SDF military forces to areas east of the Euphrates in northeastern Syria.

However, authorities said the SDF has failed to comply with the terms of those agreements.

The Syrian government has intensified efforts to restore security nationwide since the ouster of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December 2024, after 24 years in power.