On 22 December 2025, a number of civilians were injured as a result of an attack carried out by the interim authority’s forces affiliated with “Hayat Tahrir al-Sham” on the neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh, which have a predominantly Kurdish population, in the city of Aleppo in northern Syria.
The attack resulted in the injury of three civilians: a girl named Aydel, eight years old, as well as Abdul Hamid Hanan Ismail and his son Hanan Abdul Hamid, aged 20. The victims belong to the civilian population from the Kurdish component in the two targeted neighborhoods.
The injuries occurred in the context of a violent attack launched by the interim authority’s forces on the two neighborhoods, coinciding with intense clashes in the vicinity of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh between the “Kurdish” internal security forces and militants of the interim authority. This was accompanied by heavy shelling with heavy weapons, artillery, and mortar shells that targeted civilian homes inside the neighborhoods, leading to injuries among residents and damage to property.
The western side of the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods also witnessed an attack carried out by elements affiliated with the Ministry of Defense in the transitional government on one of the joint checkpoints, as part of the ongoing military escalation in the area. This security situation resulted in displacement movements from the two neighborhoods toward other nearby neighborhoods, out of fear of continued shelling and the deterioration of humanitarian conditions.
The Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods have been subjected to a tightened siege imposed by the interim authorities in Syria since September 2025, manifested in the prevention of the entry of basic materials, especially fuel—particularly diesel—as well as construction materials. The siege has been accompanied by the installation of mobile checkpoints around the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, and the imposition of additional inspection measures and restrictions on Kurdish residents during their movement to other Aleppo neighborhoods, outside official security frameworks.
The latest attack comes within the context of this ongoing siege for months, characterized by policies of restricting basic supplies and security repression, which has directly affected the lives of civilians and their fundamental rights. Residents of the two neighborhoods consider these practices a dangerous escalation that threatens their security and safety and deepens the humanitarian crisis in the absence of accountability and legal oversight.
Residents of the affected neighborhoods hold the concerned parties legally and humanely responsible for what is taking place, calling for the immediate lifting of the siege and for stopping the attacks and violations that undermine the dignity of civilians and their right to safe life, freedom of movement, and the provision of basic needs.
