ALEPPO， Syria (AP) A month after clashes rocked a Kurdish-majority neighborhood in Syria s second-largest city of Aleppo， most of the tens of thousands of residents who fled the fighting between government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have returned an unusually quick turnaround in a country where conflict has left many displaced for years.

Ninety percent of the people have come back， Aaliya Jaafar， a Kurdish resident of the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood who runs a hair salon， said Saturday. And they didnt take long. This was maybe the shortest displacement in Syria.

Her family only briefly left their house when government forces launched a drone strike on a lot next door where weapons were stored， setting off explosions.

The Associated Press visited the community that was briefly at the center of Syrias fragile transition from years of civil war as the new government tries to assert control over the country and gain the trust of minority groups anxious about their security.

Lessons learned

The clashes broke out Jan. 6 in the predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud， Achrafieh and Bani Zaid after the government and the SDF reached an impasse in talks on how to merge Syrias largest remaining armed group into the national army. Security forces captured the neighborhoods after several days of intense fighting during which at least 23 people were killed and more than 140，000 people displaced.

However， Syrias new government took measures to avoid civilians being harmed， unlike during previous outbreaks of violence between its forces and other groups on the coast and in the southern province of Sweida ， during which hundreds of civilians from the Alawite and Druze religious minorities were killed in sectarian revenge attacks.

Before entering the contested Aleppo neighborhoods， the Syrian army opened corridors for civilians to flee.

Ali Sheikh Ahmad， a former member of the SDF-affiliated local police force who runs a secondhand clothing shop in Sheikh Maqsoud， was among those who left. He and his family returned a few days after the fighting stopped.

At first， he said， residents were afraid of revenge attacks after Kurdish forces withdrew and handed over the neighborhood to government forces. But that has not happened. A ceasefire agreement between Damascus and the SDF has been holding， and the two sides have made progress toward political and military integration.

We didnt have any serious problems like what happened on the coast or in Sweida， Sheikh Ahmad said. The new security forces treated us well， and residents fears began to dissipate.

Jaafar agreed that residents had been afraid at first but that government forces didnt harm anyone， to be honest， and they imposed security， so people were reassured.

The neighborhoods shops have since reopened and traffic moves normally， but the checkpoint at the neighborhoods entrance is now manned by government forces instead of Kurdish fighters.

Residents， both Kurds and Arabs， chatted with neighbors along the street. An Arab man who said he was named Saddam after the late Iraqi dictator known for oppressing the Kurds smiled as his son and a group of Kurdish children played with a dirty but friendly orange kitten.

Other children played with surgical staplers from a neighborhood hospital that was targeted during the recent fighting， holding them like toy guns. The government accused the SDF of taking over the hospital and using it as a military site， while the SDF said it was sheltering civilians.

One boy， looking pleased with himself， emerged from an alleyway carrying the remnant of an artillery shell.

Economic woes remain

On Friday， SDF leader Mazloum Abdi said he had held a very productive meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani on the sidelines of a security conference in Munich to discuss progress made on the integration agreement.

While the security situation is calm， residents said their economic plight has worsened. Many previously relied on jobs with the SDF-affiliated local authorities， who are no longer in charge. And small businesses suffered after the clashes drove away customers and interrupted electricity and other services.

The economic situation has really deteriorated， Jaafar said. For more than a month， weve barely worked at all.

Others are taking a longer view. Sheikh Ahmad said he hopes that if the ceasefire remains in place and the political situation stabilizes， he will be able to return to his original home in the town of Afrin near the border with Turkey， which his family fled during a 2018 Turkish offensive against Kurdish forces.

Like many Syrians. Sheikh Ahmad has been displaced multiple times since mass protests against the government of then-President Bashar Assad spiraled into a brutal 14-year civil war.

Assad was ousted in November 2024 in an insurgent offensive， but the country has continued to see sporadic outbreaks of violence， and the new government has struggled to win the trust of religious and ethnic minorities.

Hopes for reconciliation

Last month， interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa issued a decree strengthening the rights of Syrias Kurdish minority， including recognizing Kurdish as a national language along with Arabic and adopting Nowruz， a traditional celebration of spring and renewal marked by Kurds around the region， as an official holiday. Kurds make up about 10% of Syrias population.

The decree also restored the citizenship of tens of thousands of Kurds in northeastern al-Hasakeh province after they were stripped of it during the 1962 census

Sheikh Ahmad said he was encouraged by al-Sharaas attempts to reassure the Kurds that they are equal citizens and hopes to see more than tolerance among Syrias different communities.

We want something better than that. We want people to love each other. Weve had enough of wars after 15 years. Its enough， he said.

叙利亚阿勒颇（好意思联社）——在叙利亚第二大城市阿勒颇的库尔德东说念主聚居区爆发结巴一个月后，此前因政府军与库尔德引导的叙利亚民主军交战而逃离的数万住户中，大多数东说念主已复返家园。在这个因多年战乱导致大批东说念主口贪污风尘的国度，如斯连忙的归来实属荒废。

“90%的住户也曾复返，”周六，谢赫·马克苏德社区的库尔德住户、诡计一家好意思发店的阿莉娅·贾法尔默示，“他们离开的时辰并不长。这可能是叙利亚境内最短的一次贪污风尘。”

政府军对邻院存放火器的局面发动无东说念主机困难并激发爆炸时，她一家东说念主仅仅片时离开了住所。

好意思联社看望了叙利亚一个曾片时处于内战多年后脆弱转型中枢的社区。刻下新政府正试图巩固对国度的为止，并赢得对自己安全感到忧虑的少数族裔群体的信任。

履历教授

1月6日，叙利亚政府与叙利亚民主军（SDF）就若何将该国最大残余武装团体并入国度队伍的沟通堕入僵局后，结巴在库尔德东说念主聚居的谢赫·马克苏德区、阿什拉菲耶区和巴尼·扎伊德区爆发。经由数日激战，安一齐队为止了这些街区。此轮结巴已形成至少23东说念主示寂，逾14万东说念主贪污风尘。

然则，叙利亚新政府继承了门径以幸免苍生受到伤害，这与之前其队伍与其他武装团体在沿海地区和南部苏韦达省爆发的结巴不同——在那些结巴中，数百名来自阿拉维派和德鲁兹派宗教少数群体的苍生在教派膺惩困难中丧生。

叙利亚队伍在参预存在争议的阿勒颇社区前，为苍生开辟了除掉通说念。

阿里·谢赫·艾哈迈德曾是叙利亚民主军（SDF）下属场地侦察队伍的成员，如今在谢赫·马格苏德诡计一家二手服装店。他也在除掉东说念主员之列，不外在构兵罢手几天后，他和家东说念主便复返了住所。

他提到，动身点住户们惦念库尔德武装除掉并将该街区打法给政府军后，会遭到膺惩性困难。但这种情况并未发生。大马士革当局与叙利亚民主军（SDF）达成的停战条约合手续灵验，两边在政事和军事一体化方面已获得发扬。

谢赫·艾哈迈德默示："咱们并未遇到沿海地区或苏韦达那样的严重问题。"新开荒的安一齐队"对待咱们很友善"，当地住户的懦弱情谊也逐渐隐匿。

贾法尔（Jaafar）承认，住户们起初照实感到懦弱，但政府军“说真话并未伤害任何东说念主，他们爱护了模范，因此群众得以宽心。”

该社区的商铺已从头买卖，交通也还原往常，但社区进口的查验站现由政府军接管，取代了原先的库尔德武装东说念主员。

库尔德东说念主和阿拉伯东说念主住户在街头与邻居谈天。一位自称以已故伊拉克独裁者萨达姆（以压迫库尔德东说念主著名）定名的阿拉伯男人，看着我方的女儿和一群库尔德孩子与一只脏兮兮但友善的橘猫玩耍，三公app表露了浅笑。

其他孩子把从隔壁一家病院捡来的手术吻合器当玩物枪玩耍，该病院在最近的结巴中成为困难主义。政府质问叙利亚民主军（SDF）占领病院并将其用作军事据点，而叙利亚民主军则宣称他们是在为苍生提供坦护。

一个男孩从衖堂里走出来，手里拿着一枚炮弹残片，脸上表露高兴的激情。

经济窘境合手续

周五，叙利亚民主军（SDF）引导东说念主马兹卢姆·阿卜迪默示，他在慕尼黑安全会议时间与好意思国国务卿马可·鲁比奥及叙利亚社交部长阿萨德·希巴尼举行了"卓有生效的会晤"，就一体化条约获得的发扬进行了磋商。

尽管安全阵势趋于清静，但当地住户默示经济窘境却进一步恶化。很多东说念主夙昔依赖叙利亚民主军（SDF）下属场地当局提供的责任岗亭，而如今这些机构已不再掌权。结巴事件不仅吓跑了顾主，还导致电力等众人就业中断，使得小本诡计遭受重创。

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“经济时势照实恶化了，”贾法尔说，“一个多月来，咱们险些王人备莫得责任。”

其他东说念主则看得更永恒。谢赫·艾哈迈德默示，他但愿淌若停战条约大略合手续且政事阵势趋于知道，他将大略重返位于土耳其边境隔壁的阿夫林镇的故园。2018年土耳其对库尔德武装发动军事行径时，他的家东说念主曾被动逃离该地。

与很多叙利亚东说念主同样，谢赫·艾哈迈德（Sheikh Ahmad）疯狂鸿沟抗议时任总统巴沙尔·阿萨德政府的行径演变成长达14年的狞恶内战以来，已屡次贪污风尘。

阿萨德于2024年11月在叛军攻势中被推翻，但该国仍通常爆发荒芜暴力事件，新政府难以赢得宗教和少数族裔群体的信任。

妥协的但愿

上月，叙利亚临时总统艾哈迈德·沙拉阿颁布国法，强化该国库尔德少数民族的权益，包括承认库尔德语与阿拉伯语同为官方说话，并将诺鲁孜节——该地区库尔德东说念主庆祝春天与新生的传统节日——定为法定沐日。库尔德东说念主约占叙利亚总东说念主口的10%。

该国法还还原了叙利亚东北部哈塞克省数万名库尔德东说念主的公民身份，这些东说念主在1962年的东说念主口普查中被掳掠了国籍。

谢赫·艾哈迈德默示，他对沙拉安抚库尔德东说念主、确保其享有对等公民地位的举措感到饱读吹，并但愿叙利亚各社群之间能超过优容，已毕更深档次的共融。

"咱们渴慕更好意思好的事物。咱们但愿东说念主们彼此相爱。经历了15年的战乱，咱们已接受够了。确实够了，"他说说念。