The Syrian army launched military operations on several fronts north of Aleppo on Thursday afternoon, 8 January, including artillery fire and attempts to storm the area with tanks from the Sheikh Maqsoud and Lairamoun axes (northern Aleppo city), as well as Ashrafieh and al-Siryan (northern Aleppo city).
The Asayish forces affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) responded with heavy weapons, artillery shelling, and exchanged gunfire between the two sides.
Clashes later eased somewhat, with no change in control.
The military operation was preceded by intermittent clashes since morning in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods of Aleppo, after several hours of relative calm.
University housing and maternity hospital hit
According to Enab Baladi’s correspondent in Aleppo, a shell landed in Khalidiya neighborhood (Aleppo city), killing one person and injuring seven others.
Mutual artillery shelling continued on residential areas, including the university housing complex in “Unit Five” (Aleppo).
The correspondent said the university housing was also targeted by a drone, which exploded above Unit Five, with no injuries reported among students or staff.
The correspondent added that shelling fired from Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud also hit the city’s maternity hospital, amid continued escalation in northern Aleppo neighborhoods and widespread fear among civilians, especially in areas close to the fighting fronts.
The targeting of hospitals is not an isolated incident in the current escalation. Zahi Azraq Hospital in Bustan al-Basha neighborhood (Aleppo city), near Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud, was hit in recent days, before Aleppo Health Directorate director Mohammad Wajih Jumaa announced it was permanently out of service.
For its part, the Internal Security Forces (Asayish) said in a statement that Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh are coming under intense shelling by tanks, artillery, and drones carried out by factions it described as affiliated with the Damascus government, as part of the ongoing military escalation in the area.
The statement said the shelling struck civilian inhabited residential neighborhoods, calling it a dangerous escalation in the pace of operations.
Asayish added it shot down two drones during the ongoing clashes, as part of what it described as repelling continued attacks on the two neighborhoods.
Civilian toll rises
According to the latest tally by Aleppo’s Health Directorate, the number of civilian deaths in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh rose to five.
Meanwhile, 44 people were injured, including women and children, as first aid continued and the wounded were transferred to hospitals for treatment.
In a related development, Syrian Civil Defense teams at the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management said one of their ambulances, marked with humanitarian symbols, came under fire by the SDF while it was near a point used to evacuate civilians trapped in their homes due to the ongoing escalation, slightly injuring a female paramedic.
The statement said targeting Civil Defense teams is a serious crime and a clear violation of international humanitarian law, and it obstructs efforts to provide life saving humanitarian services.
Amid these developments, a large scale displacement movement continued from Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud on Thursday morning, with no change in the military control map at the time of writing.
Earlier today, Thursday 8 January, the Syrian army’s military body announced a curfew in Sheikh Maqsoud, Ashrafieh, and Bani Zaid neighborhoods (Aleppo city), starting at 1:30 p.m. until further notice.
The move came after it said it had begun what it described as concentrated strikes on SDF positions in these neighborhoods.
It urged civilians to stay away from all SDF positions for their safety.