Local activists have documented physical assaults and racially motivated insults against several Kurdish citizens in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood of Aleppo, northern Syria, carried out by individuals previously affiliated with Liwa al-Baqir. According to the information available, the incident sparked widespread resentment among Kurdish residents of the neighborhood, amid calls for urgent intervention to put an end to repeated violations against civilians.
According to the sources, the assaults occurred on Thursday, March 12, 2026, in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood of Aleppo, where a group of members from the al-Baqara tribe attacked several Kurdish youths and beat them.
The sources stated that the assault was not limited to physical violence but also included racial insults and slurs targeting the Kurdish ethnic identity of the victims, which was considered a clear violation of their rights and human dignity.
According to the available information, the group responsible for the attack is affiliated with a man identified as Subhi Ahmad al-Ahmad, a member of the al-Baqara tribe. Sources indicate that members of this group had previously operated within Liwa al-Baqir.
It is noteworthy that Liwa al-Baqir operated during the years of the Syrian conflict alongside the regime of Bashar al-Assad and Iranian forces. Human rights reports and local organizations accuse the group of responsibility for killings, arrests, kidnappings, financial extortion, as well as theft and the seizure of civilian property in various areas of the country.
The incident has provoked widespread anger and resentment among Kurdish residents in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, as locals called on the responsible authorities to intervene immediately to stop the assaults and violations carried out by this group and to ensure the protection of civilians in the area.
This incident comes amid recent field developments in the region, as the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood came under the control of the interim authority forces following a military operation against local Kurdish forces that began on January 6, 2026, targeting the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods in the city of Aleppo, before both areas were brought under control on January 10, 2026.
The Rights Monitor platform had previously documented, during the military campaign, video materials—most of which were published by gunmen affiliated with the interim authority—showing the commission of serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights against Kurdish civilians in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood of Aleppo.
