Yassin Hospital now being used as a military point, reports SANA, citing Health Ministry
By Rania Abushamala
ISTANBUL (AA) – The YPG/SDF organisation seized a hospital in Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhood and expelled its medical staff, Syria’s Health Ministry said on Saturday.
According to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), the Health Ministry said: “PKK and armed groups affiliated with it expelled staff and doctors from Yassin Hospital in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhood of the city of Aleppo and turned it into a military point they are fortifying themselves in, after fleeing before the Syrian Arab Army.”
The ministry warned civilians against approaching the facility, stressing safety concerns.
Separately, a military source told SANA that a YPG/SDF member blew himself up near Syrian Army forces in Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud, with no casualties reported among the army ranks.
The Syrian Army announced on Saturday the completion of a full security sweep of the Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhood amid escalation with the YPG/SDF group.
Since Tuesday, the YPG/SDF has shelled residential neighbourhoods, civilian facilities, and Syrian Army positions in Aleppo.
The attacks have killed nine people and wounded 55 others, and triggered the displacement of about 165 000 residents from the Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhoods.
On March 10, 2025, the Syrian presidency announced the signing of an agreement for the SDF’s integration into state institutions, reaffirming the country’s territorial unity and rejecting any attempts at division.
Authorities said, in the months since, the SDF has not shown any efforts to meet the terms of the agreement.
The government has intensified efforts to maintain security across the country since the ouster of the Assad regime in December 2024, after 24 years in power.