Damascus, Jan 15, (dpa/GNA) – Residents in northern Syria have accused the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) of preventing civilians from leaving areas around the town of Deir Hafer, despite the announcement that a humanitarian corridor had been set up by the Syrian army.
Syrian government troops and allied militias have been fighting SDF forces in the region since last week.
Residents of Deir Hafer and surrounding villages told dpa, that Kurdish-led SDF forces had blocked civilians from reaching the humanitarian corridor, which was meant to allow safe passage toward government-controlled areas of Aleppo governorate.
According to multiple civilian accounts, SDF fighters fired shots into the air to disperse crowds attempting to reach the crossing near the village of Hmeimeh, west of Deir Hafer.
One resident, who requested anonymity, said families were threatened and in some cases expelled from their homes, which were converted into military locations.
A source in Aleppo governorate told dpa that explosives, had been laid on several roads leading to Deir Hafer and the town of al-Khafsa in order to prevent civilian movement.
The same source said the governorate dispatched eight buses to evacuate civilians to Aleppo, Manbij, and al-Bab.
The source accused the SDF of using civilians as human shields and warned journalists, civilians, and civil defence teams gathered near Hmeimeh of potential shelling or drone attacks targeting the area.
The SDF denied the allegations, saying they were “unfounded.”
“The situation on the ground in the area is marked by military tensions resulting from the military buildup by the Damascus government and the shelling it is carrying out, which is generally hindering civilian movement,” SDF spokesman Farhad al-Shami told dpa.
Last week, heavy fighting broke out in Kurdish-controlled districts of the city of Aleppo, which has a population of over 1 million.
The background to this is a dispute over the integration of the previously autonomous Kurdish administrations into the Syrian state system.
GNA