The Kurdish forces (YPG) have begun to withdraw from the areas they control in the northeastern sector of the city of Aleppo, as part of an agreement with rebel forces, Reuters reported, citing two sources.
The agreement to withdraw from the areas of Sheikh Maqsoud and Bustan al Basha and other parts of the city allows civilians to flee to areas of northeastern Syria under Kurdish control, according to the same sources.
At the same time, there are reports of shelling in the center of Aleppo as well as in the city of Idlib, by Assad's forces.
"Scorched Earth Fears"
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Razan Saffour, a British-Syrian human rights activist with family in Aleppo, said there was fear of a backlash from the government and Russian forces.
Russia's military intervention in the country, which began in 2015, as well as Iran's two years earlier, helped turn the tide of the war in Assad's favor.
Russian airstrikes in Aleppo then helped government forces take full control of the city in 2016.
"We are talking about rebel groups that are gaining Syrian territory at a very, very fast pace, but at the same time they have no air defenses," he said.
"And we have seen this happen in the past, the Assad regime, Russia and their ally, Iran, responded with a scorched earth policy," he said, expressing fear of a fierce and organized attack.
Meanwhile, Iran's foreign minister traveled to Damascus on Sunday, telling reporters that Tehran would support Assad.
The king of Jordan and the president of the United Arab Emirates also expressed their solidarity with the Syrian president in recent phone calls with him.
Source: skai.gr
