SDF forces prevent civilians from leaving some areas in Aleppo: Syrian Ministry of Defense

Damascus: The Syrian Ministry of Defense confirmed Wednesday that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have prevented hundreds of civilians from leaving...

Damascus: The Syrian Ministry of Defense confirmed Wednesday that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have prevented hundreds of civilians from leaving the Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhoods in Aleppo.

The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) quoted the Syrian Army's reconnaissance directorate as saying that the SDF has booby-trapped main and secondary roads in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods of Aleppo, as well as numerous public and private locations in the streets.

It added that the SDF is targeting neighborhoods in Aleppo with mortar shells and heavy and medium machine guns, resulting in further civilian casualties and property damage.

For its part, the Civil Defense teams evacuated more than 2,324 civilians, mostly from the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods of Aleppo, by this afternoon, in response to the humanitarian situation in the city, following the ongoing shelling of several neighborhoods by the SDF.

The Civil Defense explained that its teams evacuated civilians from gathering places to shelters or areas they chose, via the Al Awaridh and Al Zuhur Street crossings, coinciding with the increasing movement of civilians leaving.