Thousands fled the Kurdish-dominated neighbourhoods of Aleppo in Syria © Bakr ALkasem / AFP
The Syrian government said it had full control of Aleppo on January 11 after days of intense fighting with Kurdish fighters. Under a ceasefire agreement, members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have withdrawn from the city. The violence broke out in several mainly Kurdish neighbourhoods after negotiations to integrate the Kurds into Syria’s new government stalled. It claimed at least 23 lives and displaced some 140,000 people amid shelling and drone strikes.
The United States envoy to Syria urged the Syrian government and Kurdish authorities to “return to dialogue” following days of deadly clashes in Aleppo.
Tom Barrack said Saturday that he met with Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa to “discuss recent developments in Aleppo and the broader path forward for Syria’s historic transition.
“President Trump recognizes this moment as a pivotal opportunity for a new Syria — a unified nation in which all communities, including Arab, Kurdish, Druze, Christian, Alawite, Turkmen, Assyrian, and others, are treated with respect and dignity and afforded meaningful participation in governance and security institutions,” Barrack posted on X. “In recognition of this opportunity, he agreed to lift sanctions in order to ‘give Syria a chance’ to move forward.”
The minorities in Syria view the Syrian regime as a repackaged alQaeda or ISIS since the leadership and the security forces are former members of these terrorist organizations . They are opposed to the centralized system and prefer a federal system of government that protects their rights
FRANCE24
