The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, has expressed grave concern over renewed clashes in Syria, calling for immediate de-escalation and dialogue to halt escalating violence and protect civilians.
UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric disclosed on Wednesday in New York that Guterres was alarmed by reports of civilian deaths, injuries, and large-scale displacement following the resurgence of hostilities in northeastern neighbourhoods of Aleppo.
According to the UN, at least five civilians have been killed, while an estimated 30,000 people have been displaced following renewed fighting between the General Security Forces of Syria’s transitional government and the predominantly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The clashes resumed on Tuesday, weeks after a ceasefire announced in late December 2025 briefly halted hostilities.
Initial confrontations near the Alleramoon roundabout on Aleppo’s western outskirts reportedly spread to the Kurdish-dominated districts of Ash-Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh. Shelling also affected nearby government-controlled areas, resulting in widespread destruction.
The UN reported significant damage to homes and public infrastructure, including healthcare facilities. At least three major hospitals have shut down operations, while flights in and out of Aleppo International Airport have been suspended since Tuesday.
Guterres urged all parties to “immediately de-escalate, exercise maximum restraint, and take all necessary measures to prevent further harm to civilians,” stressing that international humanitarian law obliges all sides to protect civilian lives and infrastructure.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimated that more than 2,000 families had fled to Afrin district, while about 1,100 people were sheltering in nine collective centres within Aleppo. Thousands more fled Ashrafiyeh and Ash-Sheikh Maqsoud, seeking refuge with host communities.
Local authorities have converted places of worship into temporary shelters, opened humanitarian corridors to facilitate civilian evacuation, and deployed public buses to transport displaced families.
The UN chief also called on all actors to demonstrate flexibility on both military and political fronts and to resume negotiations aimed at fully implementing the March 10 agreement between the government and the SDF.
Responding to questions on possible solutions, Dujarric said unifying security forces under a single national command would be a critical step toward stability, emphasising the need for a state in which “all Syrians feel safe and protected.”
The renewed clashes come amid a fragile political transition following the fall of the Assad government in December 2024. Since then, sporadic violence, including sectarian attacks in Alawite coastal areas and Druze communities in Sweida, has deepened insecurity and displacement.
Millions of Syrians remain dependent on humanitarian aid, with many forced to endure winter conditions in tents or damaged homes.
OCHA reported that heavy snowstorms in late December affected about 158,000 internally displaced persons across Aleppo, Idleb, and Al-Hasakeh governorates. Two infants reportedly died from extreme cold in displacement camps in northern Idlib, while thousands of shelters were damaged.
The agency warned that without urgent humanitarian scale-up, health risks-particularly for children, the elderly, and those with chronic illnesses, will continue to rise as insecurity further restricts access and aid delivery.
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