Syria updates: Aleppo sees relative calm, majority of SDF fighters disarmed

You can read our news story on the current situation in Aleppo here.

Here you can read our reporter’s first-hand account of the violence in the city and the civilians caught in it.

This live page will close soon. Here’s a look at the day’s main developments:

• Syria’s Interior Ministry spokesperson, Nour al-Din al-Baba, has said government forces have taken near-complete control of Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh areas, claiming their operations there are nearing their “final moments”.
• The Syria Now news portal has reported that ambulances and buses have taken 37 injured and two dead SDF fighters from Yassin Hospital in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhood of Aleppo for transfer to the town of Deir Hafer, 50km (31 miles) east of Aleppo.
• Water supply from the Babiri pumping station in the eastern Aleppo countryside was halted today at 5:30pm local time (14:30 GMT), “due to a direct order from military elements affiliated with the SDF, Syria’s Energy Ministry claims.
• The group quickly denied the information as false, saying it comes “within the context of a systematic disinformation campaign that reveals its use as a tool for incitement”.
• Munir al-Mohammad, media director of Aleppo’s Health Directorate, has said at least 23 people, including civilians, were killed, and 104 were injured, in what he said were SDF attacks since Tuesday.
  

  

The clashes in Aleppo put the administration of US President Donald Trump in an uncomfortable position.

Obviously, the US has long backed the SDF. They brought 900 soldiers into Syria [to support the SDF against ISIL].

But at the same time, the US is trying to prop up the new Syrian government, so they want to see the violence in Aleppo end.

They’re offering to help bring talks about. Whether this will be effective, we’ll have to wait and see.

We don’t know a whole lot [about the US’s latest strikes on ISIL targets in Syria].

US Central Command (CENTCOM) released a video in which you can see they are land-based attacks using A-10 thunderbolts, which is a low-flying aircraft that can drop munitions, but also has a 30mm cannon that can fire lots of rounds. F-15 Eagle aircraft were also used in the attacks. CENTCOM said they were widespread.

The previous round of US strikes on ISIL targets in Syria on December 19 involved over 100 munitions and 70 sites.

In a statement, the Aleppo governorate has warned residents of potential “unsafe material” that could be buried in rubble or in homes throughout the neighbourhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud, Ashrafieh and Bani Zaid.

“We urge you to exercise caution, avoid touching any unfamiliar objects, keep away from them, and notify the relevant authorities if you notice anything, in order to ensure everyone’s safety,” said the governorate.

The European Union’s Diplomatic Service has released a statement, calling for “an end to the hostilities in and around Aleppo”.

The statement emphasises “the importance of protecting civilians at all times and easing access for humanitarian aid”.

It also urges the warring parties to “return urgently to a political dialogue for a political solution”.

“Reaching stability across the country is a key element to ensuring a sustainable and inclusive transition that meets the aspirations of all Syrians,” it continued.

In a statement, Syria’s Civil Defence says its members have started providing emergency services to sick and elderly people within Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhood.

Civil Defence crew are also working to remove dirt barriers that separate the neighbourhood from the rest of the city, said the organisation.

As we reported earlier, Syria’s Interior Ministry has claimed military operations against SDF fighters in the city are nearing the end, with Syrian government forces now exerting near complete control over the contested Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighbourhoods.

Water supply from the Babiri pumping station in the eastern Aleppo countryside was halted today at 5:30 pm local time (14:30 GMT) “due to a direct order from military elements affiliated with the SDF, Syria’s Energy Ministry claims.

The group quickly denied the information as false, saying it comes “within the context of a systematic disinformation campaign that reveals its use as a tool for incitement”.

“The operation and water pumping at the Babiri station are subject to management and technologies that fall outside the scope of our forces’ operations, and the Damascus government itself has previously targeted the station with artillery shelling on multiple occasions, then sought to hold others responsible for the consequences of its actions,” the SDF said in a statement on X.

After 14 years of civil strife, Syrians across the country are desperate for a return to stability, including in embattled Aleppo.

“We want peace and security for all sects,” Damascus resident Ali Khamees told Al Jazeera. “I hope for Syria to be united and for people to have stability so they can work and live properly.”

Watch our full report from the Syrian capital here:

Syria’s Interior Ministry spokesperson Nour Al-Din Al-Baba has said government forces have seized near complete control of Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh areas, claiming their operations there are nearing their “final moments”.

“The Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhood has almost been completely captured,” Al-Baba told the Syrian News Channel.

He added that government forces are now working to secure the area, including retrieving mines.

Here are the latest developments:

• Fighting in Aleppo has decreased compared with what we have seen over the past three days, according to our reporter on the ground.
• Munir al-Mohammad, media director of Aleppo’s Health Directorate, has released a new death toll from what he says are SDF attacks since Tuesday. In total, the official claims SDF attacks have killed 23 people, including civilians, and wounded 104 people.
• Syria’s General Authority of Civil Aviation has extended the suspension of air traffic at Aleppo International Airport “until further notice”, according to our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic.
• Tom Barrack, the US special envoy to Syria, says recent clashes between Kurdish and ⁠government forces in Aleppo are “deeply concerning” and put at risk a March 2025 integration agreement between the Syrian Democratic ⁠Forces and the Damascus government.

Syria’s Social Affairs Minister Hind Kabawat has paid a visit to shelters housing people displaced from Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighbourhoods, according to a statement by the Aleppo governorate.

Kabawat, joined by Aleppo Governor Azzam al-Gharib, reviewed the shelters’ conditions and took note of people’s essential needs, said the governorate.

Syria’s authorities plan to continue providing shelter and services for displaced families until they can safely return homes in Aleppo, it added.

Compared with what we have seen over the last three days, it is quiet in Aleppo. However, sporadic fighting is still going on.

The government says that its forces are now at the centre of Sheikh Maqsoud and that the majority of SDF fighters have laid down their arms. It says those fighters have been taken on buses to be transported to the city of Tabqa in Raqqa province, where the SDF is in control.

However, the government says there are still some SDF factions that are fighting back and refusing to lay down their arms and surrender.

While that is happening, the government claims it is continuing to carry out security sweeps. That’s why it is urging civilians not to return to their homes yet.

The government says once the area is clear of explosives, mines and other suspicious items, it will publicly invite civilians to return home.