ALEPPO, Syria — Kurdish-run civil councils in the city’s Sheikh Maqsoud and Achrafieh districts rejected a government-backed evacuation plan tied to an Aleppo ceasefire Friday as Syrian army units pushed toward the neighborhoods after days of clashes. The councils called the demand “a call to surrender,” framing it as forced capitulation and intensifying diplomatic pressure from Washington and Paris, Jan. 10, 2026.
Aleppo ceasefire terms stall as councils refuse withdrawal
The councils said they would “defend their neighborhoods” and reject any pullout that would end Kurdish administration in the two districts. In a statement reported by Reuters, local leaders said they did not trust Syria’s government to safeguard residents if fighters left.
Syria’s Defense Ministry said the Aleppo ceasefire would begin at 3 a.m. in Sheikh Maqsoud, Achrafieh and Bani Zaid and offered fighters a brief window to depart with light personal weapons under escort to areas in the northeast held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, known as the SDF. Buses arrived to transport fighters, but no withdrawal took place before firing resumed, the Associated Press reported.
After the deadline expired, the Syrian army said it would begin an operation to clear Sheikh Maqsoud. A report carried by Arab News, citing Reuters, said at least nine civilians had been killed and more than 140,000 people had fled their homes, and quoted Syrian security officials as saying the ceasefire effort had failed.
The same account described competing claims over the impact of strikes during the clashes. Kurdish security forces said some strikes hit a hospital, while Syria’s Defense Ministry said the site was an arms depot and accused the SDF of attacks that killed three soldiers. Reuters said it could not immediately verify the accounts.
U.S. and France press de-escalation
U.S. envoy Tom Barrack welcomed the temporary Aleppo ceasefire and said Washington was working to extend it beyond the initial deadline. “We are hopeful this weekend will bring a more enduring calm and deeper dialogue,” he wrote in a message cited in a separate account by Al Jazeera.
France’s Foreign Ministry, according to the same Reuters account, said it was coordinating with Washington to encourage restraint. The ministry said President Emmanuel Macron urged Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to “exercise restraint” and reiterated France’s support for a united Syria in which all communities are protected.
The fighting comes as Damascus and the SDF struggle to implement a March 2025 framework agreement on integrating Kurdish-led forces into state institutions — a process complicated by disputes over command structures, local policing and political autonomy.
Earlier Aleppo ceasefires show how quickly truces can fray
Aleppo has been a recurring proving ground for ceasefire diplomacy. During the 2016 battle for the city, a U.S.-Russia-backed truce was repeatedly strained by disputes over front lines and humanitarian access, as described in a September 2016 Reuters report.
That same summer, Sheikh Maqsoud was already a strategic flashpoint among Kurdish forces, rebels and government troops, according to a 2016 Al Jazeera examination.
Diplomats say they are trying to restore the Aleppo ceasefire long enough to protect civilians and restart talks, but residents in the affected districts say they are bracing for further street fighting if negotiations collapse.
