Aleppo school picks up the pieces after SDF fight with Syria's army

"Spent bullet shell casings litter the classrooms and corridors of Qassem Amin school in Aleppo's Ashrafieh neighbourhood. Desks barricade the stairwells; glass from shattered windows crunches underfoot. The school's playground turned into a battleground last week, as it sat on the front line of fierce fighting between fighters from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Syrian government forces. list of 3 itemsend of list SDF snipers had commandeered the top floor of the school five months earlier, while classes continued below, school staff explained."

"It was very wrong, said the school's head teacher, Ouafa Zein al-Dein, especially for the children. We never interacted with them, never even spoke to them, Zein al-Dein said of the SDF fighters. I never let anyone near them. On January 6, the day fighting started, the school's pupils had just sat down for exams. They never finished them. When Zein al-Dein heard the first explosions, she quickly sent the children home."

"At least 155,000 people fled Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud, the predominantly Kurdish Aleppo neighbourhoods where the fighting took place. The areas had been controlled by the SDF for 10 years. Last March, the SDF agreed to merge with the Syrian army after a meeting between the group's leader, Mazloum Abdi (also known as Mazloum Kobani), and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa. It was part of a broader deal to bring all SDF-controlled areas of Syria under the control of the new government, which took power"

Spent bullet casings and shattered glass litter Qassem Amin school in Aleppo's Ashrafieh neighbourhood after the playground became a frontline during fierce fighting between Kurdish-led SDF fighters and Syrian government forces. SDF snipers had occupied the school's top floor for months while classes continued below, prompting staff concerns for children's safety. At least 155,000 residents fled Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud, predominantly Kurdish neighbourhoods long controlled by the SDF. The SDF agreed to merge with the Syrian army in March as part of a broader deal to bring SDF-held areas under a new government after the regime's fall, but integration did not occur, leading to renewed clashes.

Read at www.aljazeera.com