Residents start returning to areas previously controlled by SDF fighters after their withdrawal from the city.

Syrian government forces have been carrying out security sweeps in the city of Aleppo after days of battles with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

As some residents displaced by the fighting began returning to their areas, army forces on Monday were working to remove explosive devices and weapons in other parts.

The operation comes after the last SDF fighters left Aleppo on Sunday following a ceasefire deal that allowed evacuations from the Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhoods to parts of northeastern Syria, where the Kurdish-led forces run a semi-autonomous zone.

The intense fighting that erupted last week was linked to stalled negotiations over the integration of Kurdish-run institutions and SDF fighters into the Syrian state following an agreement reached between both sides in March last year.

Residents of Ashrafieh, the first of the two neighbourhoods to fall to the Syrian army, began returning to their homes to inspect the damage, finding shrapnel and broken glass littering the streets on Sunday.

“Most people are returning to Ashrafieh, and they have begun to rebuild as there has been a lot of destruction,” said Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith, reporting from Aleppo.

He added that this was not the case for Sheikh Maqsoud, where government forces were still searching for explosives.

Smith added that Syrian forces were also looking for opposition prisoners arrested by the SDF during the rule of former leader Bashar al-Assad, who was overthrown in December 2024 by forces led by the incumbent, Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Deadly clashes

SDF leader Mazlum Abdi said on X the fighters were evacuated “through the mediation of international parties to stop the attacks and violations against our people in Aleppo”.

Abdi, in his statement, called on “the mediators to abide by their promises to stop the violations”.

US envoy Tom Barrack met al-Sharaa on Saturday and afterwards issued a call for a “return to dialogue” in accordance with the integration agreement.

The departure of the fighters marks the removal of SDF from pockets of Aleppo, which it has held since Syria’s war began in 2011.

“Even though the SDF has been bussed to its stronghold in northeastern Syria, this has still played out well for the government in Damascus,” said Al Jazeera’s Ayman Oghanna, reporting from the capital, calling it a “strategic victory” for Syria’s new leadership.

Still, he added, the government has been eager to promote a message of national unity. “They call the events in Aleppo a limited law enforcement operation, instead of open war with the SDF, so they’re really pushing for the integration and unity for Syria.”

Syrian health authorities said on Sunday at least 24 civilians have been killed and 129 wounded in SDF attacks since Tuesday.

Munir al-Mohammad, media director at Aleppo’s health directorate, said the casualties were caused by repeated attacks targeting civilian areas, according to Syria’s official SANA news agency.

The United Kingdom-based monitor, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which follows the developments in Syria through a network of sources on the ground, reported 45 civilians were killed along with 60 soldiers and fighters from both sides.