"Residents of Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhood have begun returning to their homes after days of deadly clashes and widespread displacement ended with a ceasefire. Footage shows residents walking through damaged streets, past shuttered shops and buildings bearing signs of shelling. “We fled this area because of the shelling. We didn't want, God forbid, a shell to hit our children or our home and kill us all. Thank God, we returned yesterday. The situation is calm now, but we need more security and safety,” said Hassan Abdullah, a local man. Another resident, shop owner Khaled, said the fighting had forced him to leave after his car was damaged. “We left out of fear for our children. My car was hit by shrapnel, so we were displaced. Today we are back, thank God. The situation is stable now, but we hope for electricity and services to be restored,” he said. Not all residents fled during the clashes. Umm Idris, who said she remained in the neighbourhood throughout the fighting, described her decision to stay. “I did not leave the neighbourhood. Everything happened right here; we witnessed it all. I did not leave because death is preferable to me than leaving Sheikh Maqsoud. My home is here, my life is here, and I was born here; that's why I stayed,” she said. The returns follow intense clashes between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and forces affiliated with Syria’s transitional government. Both sides accused the other of targeting civilians, with the fighting resulting in deaths, injuries and the displacement of hundreds of residents. On Sunday, the SDF commander said international mediation had led to an understanding aimed at halting the violence. “Through international mediation to stop the attacks and violations against our people in Aleppo, we have reached an understanding that leads to a ceasefire and securing the evacuation of martyrs, the wounded, trapped civilians, and fighters from the Ashrafiyah and Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhoods to northeastern Syria,” he said. According to reports, at least 107 people have been killed since the escalation began, including 47 civilians, among them eight women and six children, most of whom died in Sheikh Maqsoud. The group also reported casualties in the Al-Midan and Ashrafiyah neighbourhoods, including alleged field executions and the death of a child due to gas suffocation. As many as 59 fighters were reportedly killed, including members of the Syrian transitional government’s Ministry of Defence and Internal Security Forces, with reports of 'bodies being burned' and 'mutilated'. The latest escalation came days after officials from both sides met in Damascus to discuss implementation of the so-called March Agreement, after its deadline had passed, without a reported breakthrough. On March 10, 2025, Syria’s transitional president, Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi signed an agreement to integrate all civilian and military institutions linked to the Kurdish self-administration into the Syrian state by the end of 2025. The agreement had not been implemented at the time of publication, and sporadic clashes between the two sides have continued."