Buses returned from the vicinity of Aleppo's Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood empty between 11:16 AM and 11:46 AM UTC on Jan. 9 without evacuating Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)-affiliated militants who refused to leave, following an attack by SDF-affiliated Asayish fighters on a security checkpoint at the bus entry point, according to posts on X by QalaatAlMudiq and omar_alharir. QalaatAlMudiq reported that the buses turned back after Asayish fighters opened fire on the checkpoint in refusal of the agreement reached last night. Omar_alharir described the situation as urgent, noting the buses' return without removing the militants. These developments follow reports over the prior 59 minutes through 11:15 AM UTC, when SDF fighters in Sheikh Maqsoud refused evacuation via buses and called for mobilization amid heavy shooting, as cited by SANA and local councils on X.
