The last units of the Syrian Democratic Forces have withdrawn from Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh districts, Reuters reports, citing the state broadcaster Ekhbariya.
According to Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces, an internationally mediated ceasefire was agreed and a safe evacuation of civilians and fighters from Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud to northern and eastern parts of Syria was arranged. Kurdish forces that had previously taken shelter in the Sheikh Maqsoud hospital left the building, laying down their weapons.
The withdrawal of Kurdish formations means that Aleppo neighbourhoods held by them since the start of the civil war in 2011 are now fully returning to Damascus’s control, Reuters notes. At the same time, Kurdish forces retain authority over a semi-autonomous territory in north-eastern Syria.