Life and residents return to Kurdish neighborhood in Aleppo but war remnants remain

Описание: (15 Feb 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Aleppo, Syria - 14 February 2026
1. Various of streets in Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood with a Kurdish majority
2. Wide of partially ruined mosque in the neighborhood
3. Wide of workers fixing a cable
4. Mid of resident Aaliya Jaafar combing a wig in her hair salon
5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Aaliya Jaafar, Kurdish resident of Sheikh Maqsoud:
“90% of the people returned to the neighborhood. They didn’t stay away long. This may be one of the shortest displacements in Syria: they left for a day or two, and by the third day they were back. Everyone returned. Of course, this was because, first, settlements were immediately arranged, they started reconciliation procedures for the young men right away. Second, the internal security forces did not harm anyone, honestly.”
6. Wide of Jaafar working in her hair salon
7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Aaliya Jaafar, Kurdish resident of Sheikh Maqsoud:
“Our work has slowed down. For example, we haven’t worked at all for a month or more. It will still take some time for life to return to normal as it was before.”
8. Wide of a damaged public school in the neighborhood
9. Various of leaking water pipes
10. Various of Ali Sheikh Ahmad, a former member of the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces)-affiliated local police force, in his shop for second hand clothing
11. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ali Sheikh Ahmad, a former SDF-affiliated police force member:
“Honestly, we didn't have any serious problems like what happened on the coast or in Sweida. Their (government forces) treatment was good. At first we were afraid, but when we saw patrols going out at night, people felt a bit reassured.”
12. Mid of clothes in Ahmad’s shop
13. SONDBITE (Arabic) Ali Sheikh Ahmad, a former SDF-affiliated police force member:
“The president said, 'The Kurds are in my eyes, in my eyes.' We were happy and felt reassured by this. We have trust in our new president and hope they reach an agreement. We’ve had enough wars.”
14. Various of residents in the streets of Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood
STORYLINE:
A month after violent clashes rocked a Kurdish-majority neighborhood in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo, life has largely returned to normal, but signs of the conflict remain.

Most of the tens of thousands of residents who fled Sheikh Maqsoud during fighting between government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have returned.

“Ninety percent of the people have come back,” Aaliya Jaafar, a Kurdish resident who runs a small hair salon, said on Saturday.

“They didn’t stay away long," she added. "This was maybe the shortest displacement in Syria."

Her family did not flee during the clashes - only briefly leaving their house when government forces launched a drone strike on a lot next door where weapons were being stored, setting off violent explosions.

The neighboring houses were undamaged.

The neighborhood’s shops have reopened and traffic moves normally, but the checkpoint at the entrance to the neighborhood is now manned by government security forces rather than Kurdish fighters.

Clashes broke out Jan. 6 in the predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud, Achrafieh and Bani Zaid after the government and the SDF came to an impasse in talks over on how to merge the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into the national army.

Security forces captured the neighborhoods after several days of intense fighting during which at least 23 people were killed and more than 140,000 people displaced.




He and his family returned within a few days after the fighting stopped.
















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