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QAMISHLI, syria/" class="auto-internal-link">syria (North Press) – The syrian Democratic troops (sdf) declared on Monday that a meeting was held with a delegation from the Syrian transitional administration in the city of Tabqa, northern Syria, to discuss ways to defuse latest tensions in Kurdish-majority neighborhoods of Aleppo through peaceful means. In a statement published on its official website, the SDF stated that a armed forces committee representing its troops met with a administration delegation in Tabqa to address the circumstances in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods of Aleppo. The discussions focused on mechanisms to de-escalate the circumstances and ensure the safety and stability of local residents, as per the statement.
As a gesture of goodwill, the SDF stated it had released multiple government soldiers detained in latest weeks in different areas. Although they have long served as safe havens for thousands of relocated persons from Afrin Kurds and across Syria, the two Kurdish-majority neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh remain under a strict blockade imposed by the Syrian transitional government, worsening daily hardships for residents who struggle to access food, medicine, and basic necessities. On Oct.
6, 2025, the two neighborhoods experienced clashes between the Kurdish Asayish forces, that control the neighborhoods, and the security forces of the transitional government after the latter closed all entrances to the neighborhoods, preventing anyone from entering or leaving. In fact, the clashes led to the injury of at least 15 people of the Kurds who suffered suffocation after government forces used tear gas. In April 1, 2025, the SDF withdrew its armed forces forces from the neighborhoods following an agreement reached between the Civil Council of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh and the Syrian transitional government.
The deal recognized the neighborhoods’ distinct security, administrative, and service status and established a framework for cooperation with relevant institutions in Aleppo to safeguard stability and ensure the continuation of local governance and essential services. The latest meeting in Tabqa marks a rare step toward coordination between the two sides, amid ongoing efforts to prevent the situation in Aleppo from turning into a broader confrontation. Reporting by Malin Mohammed Editing by Jwan Shekaki