Updates: Syria’s army begins attack on SDF in Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud

You can read more about how the Syrian army’s strikes on Aleppo unfolded as Kurdish fighters refused to leave here.

And you can read more about how the clashes in Aleppo highlight the challenges of SDF integration here.

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

• Aleppo’s emergency chief Mohammed al-Rajab told Al Jazeera Arabic that 162,000 people have fled fighting in the city’s Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhoods.
• Syria’s army had warned civilians to leave the area as it launched new strikes on Sheikh Maqsoud after Kurdish fighters refused to withdraw under a ceasefire.
• The army earlier said that SDF fighters had killed at least three Syrian soldiers.
• The SDF accused factions aligned with Syria’s government of carrying out artillery shelling that killed a 10-year-old girl in Deir Hafer, east of Aleppo.
• The SDF also denied Syrian army claims that a large group of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) fighters are joining their forces in Sheikh Maqsoud.
• A deputy spokesperson for the US State Department has told Al Jazeera that Washington, which backs the SDF, wants “a stable and unified Syria, not a safe haven for terrorist groups”.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric has told reporters that the UN remains “gravely alarmed by the hostilities in Aleppo”.

“Despite ongoing efforts to try to calm the fighting, the dangers of renewed and further escalation and the impact on civilians are extremely concerning,” Dujarric said at a daily briefing in New York on Friday.

Dujarric also reminded all parties that they’re bound by international humanitarian law to protect civilians and urged them to avoid further escalation.

Syrian forces have arrested a number of SDF members after searching more than two-thirds of the Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhood, according to Syria’s state-run SANA news agency, citing an unnamed source in the military.

Syrian forces have also dismantled dozens of mines in the streets of Sheikh Maqsoud and are working to arrange for Internal Security Forces to enter the area as soon as the search operations are over, SANA added.

Mohammed al-Rajab, the director of emergency and disaster management in Aleppo, has told our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic that 162,000 people have been forced to flee bombing in the Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhoods.

Al-Rajab said that local authorities had set up 14 shelters and were providing basic necessities such as shelter, heating and food in the harsh weather conditions and that the services would continue until the residents could return home safely.

A Syrian military source has told our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic that Syrian military forces are “making progress” in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhood and now control 55 percent of the area.

The SDF has booby-trapped a number of streets and cars in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhood of Aleppo, the Syrian army claims.

The military urged residents to be cautious and not to approach any unknown vehicles or suspicious objects.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have shared new video of the Syrian army shelling a large ammunition and weapons depot belonging to the SDF in Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhood.

• At least three soldiers have been killed in SDF attacks in Aleppo, the country’s army says as it announces a military operation against the Kurdish-led group in the city’s Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhood after its deadlines for the SDF fighters to leave the area expire.
• The SDF has denied Syrian army claims that a large group of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) fighters are joining their forces in Sheikh Maqsoud, and that they killed 10 Kurdish youth who refused to fight.
• The Kurdish-led force has accused factions aligned with Syria’s government of carrying out artillery shelling that killed a 10-year-old girl in Deir Hafer, east of Aleppo.
• The number of people displaced by the fighting in Aleppo has risen to an estimated 159,000, the director of Syria’s civil defence has told state media.
• A deputy spokesperson for the US State Department has told Al Jazeera that Washington wants “a stable and unified Syria, not a safe haven for terrorist groups”.

US President Donald Trump says he wants to see an end to the fighting in Aleppo, noting that Washington enjoys good relations with both the Syrian government and the Kurds.

Speaking at the White House, Trump told reporters he wanted to see a halt to the clashes in Aleppo.

“The Kurds and the Syrian government, we get along with both as you know very well,” he said.

“They have been natural enemies over the years, but we get along [with] both, and we want to see Syria succeed.”

He added: “So far, I think they are succeeding, but this is just breaking out, and we want to see that stopped.”

Syria’s Defence Ministry claims Syrian army forces have seized numerous mid-sized and heavy weapons used by SDF forces in Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhood.

The state-run SANA news agency shared several photos appearing to show the weapons, along with large quantities of ammunition.

Following the seizure, Syrian army forces are continuing security sweeps across Sheikh Maqsoud, according to the Defence Ministry.

Syria’s Ministry of Defence has given an update on the army’s ongoing operation in Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhood.

In a statement to SANA, the ministry said soldiers were progressing slowly “and with very high focus” through the district in order to protect the lives of residents, whom it claimed SDF forces had prevented from leaving in order to use as human shields.

Syria’s Ministry of Energy is in a state of full mobilisation to restore electricity and water to Aleppo’s Ashrafieh and Bani Zaid neighbourhoods, Energy Minister Muhammad al-Bashir says.

Al-Bashir blamed the SDF for damage to the networks in the neighbourhoods, Syria’s SANA state news agency reported.

Syria’s Civil Aviation Authority says the suspension of flights to and from Aleppo International Airport has been extended until 11pm (20:00 GMT) Saturday.

Scheduled flights will continue to be diverted to Damascus international airport until authorities approve a return to landings in Aleppo, amid ongoing fighting in the city between government forces and the SDF.

A military source has told our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic that the government troops are targeting SDF positions in the town of Deir Hafer, east of Aleppo, with artillery.

We have reported earlier, based on Syria’s SANA state news agency, that a soldier was injured in an SDF drone attack on an army position in the same town.

The SDF has denied Syrian army claims that a large group of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) fighters are joining their forces in Sheikh Maqsoud, and that they killed 10 Kurdish youth who refused to fight.

In a post in its official X account, the SDF said the claims were part of the Syrian government’s “policy of lies and disinformation”.

“We categorically and unequivocally affirm that those defending Sheikh Maqsoud are the sons and daughters of the neighborhood itself, who have taken upon themselves the responsibility of protecting their families, homes, and dignity,” said the statement.

The SDF described the army’s accusations of killing Kurdish youth as a “preemptive attempt” to cover up its own violations against civilians.

“Killing, burning, and terrorising are well-known and well-documented methods employed by the factions of the Damascus government,” said the SDF.

The Lies of the Damascus Government Are on Par with Its Criminal Shelling of Civilian Areas
In a systematic continuation of its policy of lies and disinformation, the so-called “Ministry of Defense” of the Damascus government claimed that those fighting and defending the Sheikh…

— Syrian Democratic Forces (@SDF_Syria) January 9, 2026