Columns of smoke rising from Aleppo's Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods amid intense clashes between government forces and the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) forces on Thursday, January 8. Omar Haj Kadour/AFP/Getty Images Reuters — The Syrian army launched new strikes in parts of Aleppo on Thursday after ordering residents to evacuate, accusing the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) of using Kurdish-majority areas to launch attacks as clashes entered a third day.