The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria issued a statement regarding the attacks on the Şêxmeqsûd and Eşrefiyê neighbourhoods of Aleppo and the crimes committed. 

 

The statement included the following remarks: “On January 6, 2026, the neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh in the city of Aleppo were subjected to a large-scale military attack launched by factions affiliated with the Ministry of Defense of the Syrian Interim Government, within the framework of a Turkish plan and with undeclared support from international and regional powers. This attack constitutes a new episode in the series of targeting the Kurdish presence as an integral component of the city of Aleppo, and comes as an extension of the grave violations and massacres that have affected the residents of Syria’s coastal region and the people of Sweida Governorate.

 

This attack continued for six consecutive days and, in essence, was an assault by states against two residential neighborhoods, in which all types of heavy weapons were used against simple individual arms. Thousands of fighters from armed groups took part, including members of ISIS, against hundreds of members of the Internal Security Forces. It was an unequal battle in every sense, far removed from humanitarian and ethical values and from internationally recognized rules of war.

 

Despite this, our comrades in the Internal Security Forces confronted this aggression with historic and heroic resistance, in defense of civilians and in protection of our people in the two neighborhoods. Over six days of steadfastness and brave confrontation with various kinds of heavy weapons, our heroes wrote the highest meanings of sacrifice and dedication. Beginning with the two heroic commanders, Ziyad and Azad, who broke the fiercest attacks and led the resistance with unyielding will, and reaching our comrades Hawar, Dilberin, Viyan, Frashin, Rojbin, and Deniz, who embodied through their self-sacrificing actions the highest degrees of commitment to the values of their people and their cause, so that their sacrifices will remain eternal in the conscience and memory of our people forever.

 

The seizure of the two neighborhoods by the armed groups affiliated with the Ministry of Defense cannot be described as a victory; rather, it is an act of treachery and a major crime committed by an authority that claims to represent the state while killing its own citizens and violating their dignity. An authority that claims adherence to Islam while practicing mutilation of bodies, humiliating social communities, and committing clear war crimes. Any authority that relies on another state against its own people loses its legitimacy, no matter how much international support it enjoys, because the people alone are the source of legitimacy. The use of tanks and heavy artillery against residential neighborhoods confirms the weakness and fear of this authority; it does not express strength but will remain a stain of shame in Syria’s history.

 

We affirm that the will of our people, who have resisted siege and injustice for long decades, whether under Baathist rule or during the period of the Interim Government, together with the heroic resistance shown by our heroes and heroines, is the true victor. We also affirm that the massacres, violations, and humiliations committed against our people and our martyrs will not go unpunished, and their wounds will remain alive in our conscience until those responsible are held to account.

 

Based on the dangerous practices and violations that took place during these days, we call on international, human rights, and humanitarian organizations to assume their responsibilities and to monitor the humanitarian and security situation in the neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh, in light of the brutal attacks against our people, violations of human dignity, field executions, war crimes, and acts of ethnic cleansing and demographic change. We also demand the deployment of an international force in the two neighborhoods to prevent further crimes, given the lack of trust in the state’s security forces, which are led by individuals with extremist and ISIS-like ideology.

 

Because the primary objective of this attack is to bring about demographic change, we call on our steadfast people in the two neighborhoods to hold on to their homes, and we urge those who were forced to flee to return to their houses. In conclusion, despite our awareness of the scale of the suffering endured by our people, we in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria affirm that we will mobilize all our material and moral capabilities to mitigate the effects of this war, and we will stand by our people everywhere and under all circumstances.”