The neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafieh in Aleppo have been at the center of events and news in recent days, due to the intense clashes between the Syrian army and the 'SDF' fighters, which ended with the Syrian government's control over the neighborhoods, a ceasefire, and allowing Kurdish fighters to exit towards the northeast.
So, what is the story of the Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafieh neighborhoods?
The Sheikh Maqsood neighborhood is one of the largest neighborhoods in the city of Aleppo, with an area estimated at about 4,000 square meters. 
Approximately 200,000 people reside in Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafieh, the majority of whom are Kurds, in addition to some Arab residents.

The Syrian Democratic Forces 'SDF' controlled them before the latest operation, noting that the areas are considered a separate enclave from their areas of control in northeastern Syria.

Historically Christian Area
The neighborhoods were not Kurdish areas, but Christian ones, inhabited by a number of Christians, Armenians, and Assyrians, and the area was called Jabal Saida, in reference to the Virgin Mary. However, Kurds from the northern and eastern countryside of Aleppo, including Afrin, Jindires, and Kobani, moved to this area seeking a better life closer to the city.
The large influx of Kurds gave the area a Kurdish character.
The Naming of Sheikh Maqsood
After Kurds arrived in the city and built a mosque named after a Kurdish Sufi sheikh, Sheikh Maqsood, the name became commonly used for the area in the 1970s.
The neighboring Ashrafieh neighborhood appeared around the same time, as an unorganized extension of the Christian Syrian neighborhood.
Contentious Relationship with the Assad Regime
In 2004, the Qamishli events occurred. At that time, Syrian Kurds rose up, leading to clashes in the Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafieh neighborhoods between Kurdish party leaders and the security apparatuses of Bashar al-Assad's regime.
After the Syrian revolution erupted in 2011, the former Syrian regime sought to neutralize the Kurds from the uprising and popular movement, handing over the neighborhoods to the Kurdish self-administration until the 'SDF' forces took control of the area.
The 'SDF' collaborated with Assad regime forces, 'Hezbollah', and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard after 2016 when it controlled the eastern part of Aleppo city and Sunni Arab towns and villages in the northern countryside of Aleppo.
After the Fall
Following the Aleppo battle during the 'Deterrence of Aggression' operation that eventually toppled Assad, and the withdrawal of the Syrian army from the province at that time, the 'SDF' tried to exploit the ensuing chaos to expand its control, resulting in clashes in the area at the time.
After the new Syrian authorities assumed power in Syria, the commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces 'SDF', Mazloum Abdi, went to Damascus and reached an agreement with Syrian President Ahmad Shar'a, known as the March 10 Agreement, which stipulated the integration of the northeastern region with Syria and the integration of Kurds into the Syrian army, but the agreement was not implemented, and procrastination continues.

Displacement in Aleppo due to clashes (AFP).