Fighting erupted on Tuesday in the Sheikh Maqsoud, Ashrafieh and Bani Zeid neighborhoods, following stalled talks on implementing a March agreement aimed at merging the SDF into Syria’s central government, underscoring deep mistrust and hardened positions on both sides.
Jolani forces declared a curfew on Thursday from 1:30 p.m. (1030 GMT) in the affected neighborhoods, saying they would launch “targeted operations” against SDF positions.
They urged civilians to stay away from SDF locations and warned the Kurdish-led group not to obstruct residents trying to flee, saying they were working to ensure the safety of those leaving.
Meanwhile, amid widening displacement, Al Jazeera reported clashes in Ashrafieh, where Jolani forces said they had struck an SDF checkpoint that they claimed was preventing civilians from escaping.
The Aleppo health directorate said nine people were injured in the latest fighting, blaming SDF shelling of civilian neighborhoods.
In response, the SDF media office said it held Jolani forces responsible for the humanitarian consequences of the violence and warned that continuing the same approach would lead to serious repercussions.
Reporting from Aleppo, Al Jazeera correspondent Resul Serdar said civilians were expected to flee before the military operations began, but shelters lacked sufficient capacity.
He said Jolani authorities were directing people to mosques and schools, while others were moving north toward the Afrin enclave.
“It has been a tense night in the city, with shelling and machinegun fire heard through the night,” Serdar said.
“Fierce clashes are ongoing,” he added. “There are no signs of de-escalation at the moment.”
Separately, the directorate for social affairs said more than 46,000 people had been displaced, many fleeing on foot through humanitarian corridors opened by Jolani forces.
Families carried limited belongings, uncertain if or when they would return, while others were transported out on city buses.
“We fled the clashes, and we don’t know where to go … Fourteen years of war, I think that’s enough,” said Ahmed, a 38-year-old man, speaking to AFP as he carried his son.
Another displaced resident, Ammar Raji, 41, said his family was “forced to leave because of the difficult circumstances”.
“I have six children, including two young ones … I am worried we will not return,” Raji said.
In a related development, Jolani forces on Wednesday declared all SDF “military sites” in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh as “legitimate military targets,” accusing the SDF of a “major escalation” and of committing “numerous massacres against civilians.”
They designated the areas as “closed military zones” from 3 p.m. (1200 GMT) and ordered residents to evacuate through designated corridors.
Authorities shut schools, universities and government offices across Aleppo and suspended flights at the city’s airport until Thursday evening.
The SDF acknowledged a large deployment of Jolani military vehicles near the neighborhoods, calling it a “dangerous indicator that warns of escalation and the possibility of a major war.”
Serdar said that although tens of thousands fled, many civilians remained trapped due to the intensity of the fighting.
“And once the clock hit 3pm … we have seen things rapidly escalate: The artillery shelling, the rocket firing, the gunfire – and with drones being involved,” he said, describing the situation as “extremely tense.”
Aleppo, he noted, had endured some of the worst battles of Syria’s civil war.
“And once again, civilians are paying the price,” Serdar said, adding that the clashes reflected a deeper struggle over power, unresolved political arrangements and the legacy of war.
Both sides blamed each other for triggering the violence, which followed US-mediated talks that ended with “no tangible results,” according to state media.
The SDF controls large areas of northern and northeastern Syria, and its incorporation into state institutions has remained contentious since President Ahmed al-Sharaa took office a year ago.
A March agreement envisaging the merger of “all civil and military institutions in northeastern Syria” into “the Syrian state, including border crossings, the airport, and oil and gas fields,” has yet to be implemented.
Information Minister Hamza al-Mustafa accused the SDF of violating the deal more than 100 times and said at least 20 civilians had been killed in attacks over the past month.
“An urban city and major city like Aleppo cannot function under consistent threat for the daily life,” he told Al Jazeera.
“We are talking here about an agreement (that) has been signed and needs to be implemented,” he said, adding that repeated violations had “forced the government to secure the civilians and implement and restore the order on the ground.”
In a statement, the SDF said it had no presence in the neighborhoods and that the areas “do not pose a military threat in any way.”
It called on Jolani forces to “immediately halt the siege, bombardment and military offensive,” warning that continued fighting could “turn Syria into an open battlefield again.”
The United Nations voiced concern, with a spokesperson for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urging all parties to “immediately de-escalate, exercise maximum restraint and take all measures to prevent further harm to civilians.”
The spokesperson also called for “flexibility and goodwill” and the swift resumption of negotiations to implement the March agreement.
Over the past year, Israel has launched more than 600 air, drone and artillery attacks across Syria, according to a monitoring group, as part of what experts describe as a strategy to weaken neighboring states.