Damascus, Jan 11, (dpa/GNA) – After days of fighting in the Syrian city of Aleppo, the last fighters from the Kurdish-led militia have left, media reported on Sunday.
Syrian government troops and allied militias have been clashing with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Aleppo since Tuesday. Both sides have accused each other of instigating the clashes.
Aleppo Governor Azzam al-Gharib told Qatari news network Al Jazeera that Aleppo had become “empty of SDF fighters,” after government forces coordinated their withdrawal.
Syria’s state news agency SANA reported that the last SDF fighters left the area by bus overnight, heading north-east into the country.
An agreement on a ceasefire and the safe evacuation of civilians and fighters, was reached through international mediation, Al Jazeera quoted an SDF commander as saying on social media.
The violence has claimed the lives of at least 62 people, including 27 civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor.
The fighting was linked to stalled negotiations over the integration of Kurdish-run institutions, and SDF fighters into the Syrian state following an agreement reached between both sides in March last year.
The fighting is considered the heaviest since the toppling of long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad just over a year ago.
Aleppo is largely under the control of the central government based in Damascus, while several Kurdish neighbourhoods there were previously secured by Kurdish fighters.
Large parts of north-eastern Syria are still under the control of the SDF militia, a close US ally who played a leading role in the fight against the Islamic State terrorist militia.
GNA