TUNIS, April 1. /TASS/. The Kurd-populated districts of Achrafieh and Sheikh Maqsood in the north of Aleppo city have come under the control of the new Syrian authorities, according to an agreement between the Syrian administration and Kurds’ Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
"The neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Achrafieh, where Kurds make up the majority of the population, are administratively part of Aleppo," the agreement, published by the newspaper Al Watan, says.
Under the deal, Kurdish militias will withdraw from the districts to northeastern Syria. The Interior Ministry of the Transitional Government will assume responsibility for the safety of local residents. "Two centers will be organized under the Ministry of Internal Security" in the districts.
The Achrafieh and Sheikh Maqsood residents are "guaranteed freedom of movement." The civilian institutions of the districts will work in coordination with the urban ones and provide services "without any discrimination compared to other districts."
The armed opposition groups, which launched an offensive against the Syrian army at the end of November, never attacked the Kurdish militias and allowed them to keep Achrafieh and Sheikh Maqsood.
On March 10, Syrian president for the transitional period Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF Commander Mazloum Abdi signed an agreement on the entry of the Kurdish alliance into the security forces subordinate to the new Syrian authorities. According to the document, "all civilian and military facilities located in northeastern Syria will be integrated into the public administration system," headed by the new authorities in Damascus. The agreement is to be implemented by the end of the year. As a representative of the Syrian Defense Ministry pointed out, the SDF "will gradually transfer control over everything to the [Syrian] government, including ensuring security of the border with Iraq."