Serdar Dincel
10 January 2026•Update: 10 January 2026
ISTANBUL
Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler and his Syrian counterpart Murhaf Abu Qasra on Saturday discussed the latest developments in Syria, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said.
The discussions were held over the phone, the ministry stated on the Turkish social media platform NSosyal.
No further information was immediately available.
Since Tuesday, the terrorist organization YPG/SDF has shelled residential neighborhoods, civilian facilities, and Syrian Army positions in Aleppo.
The attacks have killed 23 people and wounded over 100 others and triggered the displacement of about 165,000 residents from the Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud districts.
In March 2025, the Syrian presidency announced the signing of an agreement for the SDF’s integration into state institutions, reaffirming the country's territorial unity and rejecting any attempts at division.
In April 2025, Syrian authorities signed an agreement with the SDF concerning the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods, stipulating that both districts would be considered administrative parts of the city of Aleppo while respecting their local particularities.
The agreement also included provisions to ban armed manifestations, restrict weapons to internal security forces, and require the withdrawal of SDF military forces to areas east of the Euphrates River in northeastern Syria.
But authorities said that in the months since, the SDF has not shown any efforts to meet the terms of the agreements.
The Syrian government has intensified efforts to maintain security across the country since the ouster of the Assad regime in December 2024, after 24 years in power.
