Civilians flee Aleppo as clashes between Syrian government and Kurdish forces escalate

ALEPPO, Syria (AP) — Fighting escalated in Syria's northern city of Aleppo on Wednesday after tens of thousands of residents fled two predominantly ethnic Kurdish neighborhoods when the military ordered civilians to evacuate the area.

The evacuations came amid the deadliest round of recent violence between government forces and Kurdish fighters.

Syria’s military gave people until 3 p.m. (1200 GMT) to leave the neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Achrafieh, after which they would be considered a “closed military area.” Once the deadline ended, sounds of explosions were heard in the two neighborhoods.

More than 46,000 people have been displaced in different areas of the province, according to Aleppo's Directorate of Social Affairs and Labor.

Clashes and shelling earlier on Wednesday killed seven people in areas controlled by the Kurdish-led and U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, and five others in the government-controlled areas. Dozens of people have been wounded.

Syria’s Information Ministry said the army would launch “a limited military operation” in Aleppo, saying it came in response to SDF attacks on government-held parts of the largest city in the country and once its commercial center. The ministry said that such attacks in recent months had killed more than 20 civilians and wounded more than 150 others, and resulted in the deaths of more than 25 soldiers.

The SDF — which has accused the government forces of attacking civilian neighborhoods and infrastructure and of imposing a “suffocating and complete siege" on the Kurdish areas — said in a statement on Wednesday that government forces were using heavy weapons to attack the Sheikh Maqsoud and Achrafieh neighborhoods. It added that Kurdish forces are engaging in “fierce resistance to repel” the assault and protect the neighborhoods and their residents.

The Aleppo military operations “are solely aimed at preserving security, preventing any armed activity within residential areas, and stopping their use as pressure card against Aleppo city” and “are carried out with full commitment to protecting civilians, ensuring their safety and safeguarding their property,” the government said in statement published by state news agency SANA.

The latest clashes are the deadliest so far between the two sides and come as efforts to merge the SDF with the national army have shown little progress.

The two predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods have witnessed intermittent clashes in recent months. Previous rounds of fighting ended with truce agreements.

A Kurdish man who left with his wife and four children on Wednesday told The Associated Press that the situation inside the two neighborhoods is harsh, including food and drinking water shortages.

“I am ready to stay in a garden in order to protect my children,” said the man, who didn't give his name because he was fearful of repercussions. He said that he was originally from the northern region of Afrin that was captured by Turkish troops and Turkey-backed gunmen in 2018.

Adiba Allo said a shell hit her home on Tuesday forcing her to flee with her children. She added that they have received text messages with a telephone number to call in case they have no place to stay.

Since Tuesday evening the situation had been relatively calm only to explode again on Wednesday afternoon.

The SDF has tens of thousands of fighters and is the main force to be absorbed into Syria’s military.

The leadership in Damascus under interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa signed a deal in March with the SDF, which controls much of the northeast, for it to merge with the Syrian army by the end of 2025. There have been disagreements on how it would happen. In April, scores of SDF fighters left Sheikh Maqsoud and Achrafieh as part of the deal.

Officials from the central government and SDF met again on Sunday in Damascus, but government officials said that no tangible progress had been made.

Some of the factions that make up the new Syrian army, formed after the fall of former President Bashar Assad in a rebel offensive in December 2024, were previously Turkey-backed insurgent groups that have a long history of clashing with Kurdish forces.

The SDF for years has been the main U.S. partner in Syria in fighting against the Islamic State group, but Turkey considers the SDF a terrorist organization because of its association with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has waged a long-running insurgency in Turkey. A peace process is now underway.

The SDF and Syria’s government have accused each other of seeking to derail the March agreement.

There was no immediate comment from the Turkish government on the clashes in Aleppo.

However, Turkey’s pro‑Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party, DEM, called for an end to assaults on Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo, saying the attacks violated the March agreement, and urged Turkey and other states to support democratization in Syria by halting military operations.

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Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser in Ankara contributed.

Syrian government soldiers ride a vehicle during clashes with Kurdish fighters in a contested area of the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

A car burns during clashes between Kurdish fighters and Syrian government forces in a contested area of the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)

Residents flee the Sheikh Maqsoud and Achrafieh neighborhoods after clashes broke out on Tuesday between Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters in a contested area of the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)

Residents sit on a truck, as they are fleeing from Sheikh Maqsoud and Achrafieh neighborhoods after clashes broke out on Tuesday between Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters in a contested area of the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)

A Syrian government soldier directs residents who are fleeing from Sheikh Maqsoud and Achrafieh neighborhoods after clashes broke out on Tuesday between Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters in a contested area of the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)

A woman sits in a car with her bird as she is fleeing from Sheikh Maqsoud and Achrafieh neighborhoods, after clashes broke out on Tuesday between Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters in a contested area of the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)

Residents carry their belongings as they are fleeing from Sheikh Maqsoud and Achrafieh neighborhoods after clashes broke out on Tuesday between Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters in a contested area of the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)

A Syrian government soldier helps an old woman who is fleeing from Sheikh Maqsoud and Achrafieh neighborhoods after clashes broke out on Tuesday between Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters in a contested area of the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)

Glenn Hall, a Hockey Hall of Famer whose ironman streak of 502 starts as a goaltender remains an NHL record, has died. He was 94.

Nicknamed “Mr. Goalie,” Hall worked to stop pucks at a time when players at his position were bare-faced, before masks of any kind became commonplace. He did it as well as just about anyone of his generation, which stretched from the days of the Original Six into the expansion era.

A spokesperson for the Chicago Blackhawks confirmed the team received word of Hall’s death from his family. A league historian in touch with Hall’s son, Pat, said Hall died at a hospital in Stony Plain, Alberta, on Wednesday.

A pioneer of the butterfly style of goaltending of dropping to his knees, Hall backstopped Chicago to the Stanley Cup in 1961. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the playoffs in 1968 with St. Louis when the Blues reached the final before losing to Montreal. He was the second of just six Conn Smythe winners from a team that did not hoist the Cup.

His run of more than 500 games in net is one of the most untouchable records in sports, given how the position has changed in the decades since. Second in history is Alec Connell with 257 from 1924-30.

“Glenn was sturdy, dependable and a spectacular talent in net,” Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “That record, set from 1955-56 to 1962-63, still stands, probably always will, and is almost unfathomable — especially when you consider he did it all without a mask.”

Counting the postseason, Hall started 552 games in a row.

Hall won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 1956 when playing for the Detroit Red Wings. After two seasons, he was sent to the Black Hawks along with legendary forward Ted Lindsay.

Hall earned two of his three Vezina Trophy honors as the league's top goalie with Chicago, in 1963 and '67. The Blues took him in the expansion draft when the NHL doubled from six teams to 12, and he helped them reach the final in each of their first three years of existence, while winning the Vezina again at age 37.

Hall was in net when Boston's Bobby Orr scored in overtime to win the Cup for the Bruins in 1970, a goal that's among the most famous in hockey history because of the flying through the air celebration that followed. He played one more season with St. Louis before retiring in 1971.

“His influence extended far beyond the crease," Blues chairman Tom Stillman said. “From the very beginning, he brought credibility, excellence, and heart to a new team and a new NHL market.”

A native of Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Hall was a seven-time first-team NHL All-Star who had 407 wins and 84 shutouts in 906 regular-season games. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1975, and his No. 1 was retired by Chicago in 1988.

Hall was chosen as one of the top 100 players in the league's first 100 years.

Blackhawks chairman and CEO Danny Wirtz called Hall an innovator and “one of the greatest and most influential goaltenders in the history of our sport and a cornerstone of our franchise.”

“We are grateful for his extraordinary contributions to hockey and to our club, and we will honor his memory today and always,” Wirtz said.

The Blackhawks paid tribute to Hall and former coach and general manager Bob Pulford with a moment of silence before Wednesday night’s game against St. Louis. Pulford died Monday.

A Hall highlight video was shown on the center-ice videoboard. The lights were turned off for the moment of silence, except for a spotlight on the No. 1 banner for Hall that hangs in the rafters at the United Center.

Fellow Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur, the league's leader in wins with 691 and games played with 1,266, posted a photo of the last time he saw Hall along with a remembrance of him.

“Glenn Hall was a legend, and I was a big fan of his,” Brodeur said on social media. “He set the standard for every goaltender who followed. His toughness and consistency defined what it meant to play.”

AP Sports Writer Jay Cohen in Chicago contributed to this report.

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FILE - Glenn Hall, second from left, stands with fellow former Chicago Blackhawks players Stan Mikita, former general manager Tommy Ivan, Bobby Hull, Bill Wirtz and Tony Esposito during a pre-game ceremony at the Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Ill., April 14, 1994. (AP Photo/Fred Jewell, File)

FILE - St. Louis Blues goalie Glenn Hall, top right, is pinned to his net waiting to make a save on a Montreal Canadians shot as Blues' Noel Picard (4) tries to block the puck while Canadiens' John Ferguson (22) and Ralph Backstorm wait for a rebound in the third period of their NHL hockey Stanley Cup game, May 5, 1968. (AP Photo/Fred Waters, File)