"The Syrian Defense Ministry announced a ceasefire overnight into Friday, calling on Kurdish forces to leave the city and move into other Kurdish-held areas. But Kurdish forces rejected what they called "a call to surrender," adding that they would "defend their neighborhoods." Several hours later, the Defense Ministry said the deadline for withdrawal had passed and that the military would take control of the districts by force."
"The military launched strikes after Kurdish forces rejected what they called demands to "surrender." The Syrian government has been struggling to unite disparate groups since taking power a year ago. The Syrian city of Aleppo once again became the site of fighting on Friday as after Kurdish groups rejected government demands to abandon their positions. Syrian forces hit the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiya neighborhoods that have been held by Kurdish forces since the early days of the war that broke out in 2011."
Syrian forces carried out strikes on Kurdish-held neighborhoods in Aleppo after Kurdish groups rejected government orders to withdraw to other Kurdish-held areas. The Defense Ministry announced a ceasefire and set a withdrawal deadline, then said the deadline had passed and that the military would take control by force. Kurdish forces called the withdrawal demand "a call to surrender" and vowed to defend their neighborhoods. The military said strikes targeted locations used to attack civilians, while Kurdish security forces said strikes hit a hospital and accused the military of war crimes. Recent fighting has displaced over 140,000 people and killed at least nine civilians. Kurdish forces are the main component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which had an agreement with the new government amid efforts to unify disparate groups since it took power a year ago.
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