CIVILIANS were warned to leave a contested area in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo today as clashes continued between government and Kurdish forces.

The government of Aleppo province gave residents until 1pm local time to evacuate in co-ordination with the army. 

The Sana news agency said the military would begin “targeted operations” against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in the neighbourhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud, Achrafieh and Bani Zaid half an hour after that deadline.

As of Wednesday, more than 46,000 people had been displaced across the province, according to Aleppo’s Directorate of Social Affairs and Labour.

The SDF has said that at least eight civilians were killed in the Kurdish-majority neighbourhoods, while government officials reported at least five civilians and one soldier have died in the surrounding government-controlled areas in the fighting that broke out Tuesday.

Dozens more on both sides have been wounded.

Each side has accused the other of deliberately targeting civilian neighbourhoods and infrastructure.

Some of the factions that make up the new Syrian army, formed after the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, were previously Turkey-backed insurgent groups that have a long history of clashing with Kurdish forces.

Turkey considers the SDF a terrorist organisation because of its association with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has waged a long-running insurgency in Turkey although a peace process is now underway.

Turkey’s Ministry of National Defence said Thursday that the “operation is being carried out entirely by the Syrian army” while Turkey is “closely monitoring.”

“Syria’s security is our security,” the statement said, adding that “Turkey will provide the necessary support should Syria request it.”

The United Nations has expressed concern at the violence. Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters Wednesday that secretary-general Antonio Guterres “calls on all actors to immediately de-escalate, exercise maximum restraint, and take all measures to prevent further harm to civilians” and to “promptly resume negotiations.”