A drone strike targeted Aleppo City Hall on Saturday, 10 January, coinciding with the end of an official press conference attended by several ministers and local officials.
The briefing, held inside the building, focused on the humanitarian situation in Aleppo amid security challenges following clashes between the Syrian army and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) since 6 January.
Enab Baladi’s correspondent in Aleppo said the city hall was hit today during a press conference attended by several ministers and Aleppo Governor Azzam al-Gharib.
The correspondent added that the conference was meant to provide an overview of the city’s humanitarian situation, with Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Hind Kabawat and Minister of Information Hamza al-Mustafa in attendance, alongside the governor.
The strike caused material damage to the building, with no injuries reported among those present.
Government condemnation
Aleppo’s Media Directorate condemned what it described as an attack targeting media crews and government facilities, in reference to the drone strike that hit the Aleppo Governorate building during an official press conference.
In a statement, the directorate said the SDF targeted the Aleppo Governorate building with a drone while a press conference was being held with Governor Azzam al-Gharib, Minister of Information Hamza al-Mustafa, and Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Hind Kabawat.
The directorate said the attack reflected “criminal behavior” aimed at silencing the media and preventing the truth from reaching the public, according to the statement.
It added that, in its view, attacks on government institutions, media staff, and medical facilities came amid the SDF’s losses, accusing the group of committing violations against civilians in Aleppo since the start of what it called the “liberation.”
SDF denies responsibility
The SDF, for its part, denied targeting any civilian area in Aleppo, responding to accusations leveled after the strike.
In a statement, the SDF said its forces “did not target any civilian area in Aleppo,” adding that “all claims being promoted in this regard are false and are not based on any field realities,” according to its wording.
Enab Baladi’s correspondent in Aleppo said several neighborhoods in the city were subjected today to drone overflights and strikes, noting that al-Furqan neighborhood (western Aleppo) was among the areas most affected.
What did the press conference include?
Governor Azzam al-Gharib said the SDF did not comply with the 1 April agreement related to the withdrawal of its forces from the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods (northern Aleppo).
He said the two neighborhoods had become a launch point for attacks on army and Internal Security positions, as well as surrounding neighborhoods.
During the press conference, al-Gharib said SDF “violations” had been repeated, and that despite what he described as the state’s patience and calls for de-escalation to protect civilians, the group escalated its attacks on Aleppo’s neighborhoods. He said this resulted in the killing of six civilians and the injury of more than 70 others, most of them women and children.
He added that these developments prompted the Syrian army to take what he called appropriate measures to establish security in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh.
Al-Gharib noted that once clearing operations end, state service institutions would begin entering the neighborhoods in coordination with the army.
The governor said the province received about 155,000 displaced people from Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud.
He also announced the formation of the Central Aleppo Response Committee, which includes the health, social affairs and labor, and international cooperation directorates, to secure residents’ needs.
For his part, Minister of Information Hamza al-Mustafa said Aleppo, Syria’s economic capital, had been under daily threat from the SDF.
He said national media handled the events professionally and objectively by conveying information and clarifying what was happening.
Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Hind Kabawat said her ministry is working to meet the needs of displaced people in Aleppo’s shelters, in cooperation with civil society organizations and local organizations.
Clashes persist in Aleppo as Syrian security forces enter Sheikh Maqsoud
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