Human Rights Statement Issued by the Rights Monitor Platform
Rights Monitor – the “Human Rights Monitor Platform in Syria” – expresses its profound concern over the dangerous military escalation and the widespread violations being committed against Kurdish civilians in several Syrian regions since the launch of the military campaign by what is known as the “Syrian Arab Army,” led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, in January 2026. The campaign has directly targeted predominantly Kurdish areas and, according to local sources and activists’ testimonies, has resulted in the killing of thousands of Kurdish civilians and fighters, amid an almost complete media blackout.
The platform notes that these violations are accompanied by a systematic policy of concealing the truth, reflected in the refusal of institutions affiliated with the interim authority to disclose the real numbers of those killed, injured, detained, or captured. This raises serious concerns about the commission of grave crimes that may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Rights Monitor also documents a dangerous escalation in incitement rhetoric against the Kurdish people, circulated by media figures and supporters of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, including media platforms broadcasting from European and Western countries. In addition, some Gulf-based channels have played a role in demonizing Kurds by airing misleading reports that portrayed ISIS members—who were detained in prisons later taken over by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham—as “innocent civilians.” Documented evidence and verified footage, however, show that these individuals were active members of ISIS and had previously appeared in the group’s propaganda materials during its control of the region.
The platform emphasizes that the prisons previously administered by the Syrian Democratic Forces were subject to oversight by the International Coalition and were open to international and local organizations that implemented rehabilitation and awareness programs, particularly for children recruited by ISIS. This fact refutes the misleading media narratives being used to justify the current attacks.
According to documentation by Rights Monitor, the military campaign began on the morning of 7 January 2026 with attacks on the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods in the city of Aleppo, both predominantly Kurdish areas. The operations then expanded to the Aleppo countryside, eastern Euphrates regions, and the cities of Tabqa and Raqqa, where displaced Kurdish civilians from Afrin were residing, alongside civilians from the Alawite community who had fled violations on the Syrian coast.
During these operations, hundreds of civilians and combatants were killed. Video footage published by fighters affiliated with the interim authority shows the burning and mutilation of bodies—acts that constitute flagrant violations of international humanitarian law, particularly the Geneva Conventions, which obligate parties to a conflict to respect the dignity of the dead and protect civilians.
As fighting approaches predominantly Kurdish areas in northern Syria, risks are increasing to an unprecedented level, especially given the presence of extremist fighters within the ranks of the interim authority’s forces who adhere to ISIS ideology. The organization has documented massacres against Kurdish villages in the vicinity of Kobani, as well as a mass killing of a Kurdish family that had fled from Raqqa toward Hasakah. Numerous other cases could not be documented due to the media blackout and restrictions on access to affected areas.
Rights Monitor is also closely monitoring, with deep concern, the imposition of a suffocating siege on the city of Kobani and surrounding Kurdish villages, alongside military advances that threaten to impose a similar siege on Kurdish areas in Hasakah governorate. These developments have fueled genuine fears among civilians of a repetition of mass massacres and widespread violations.
The platform strongly condemns the official circular issued by the Syrian Ministry of Awqaf affiliated with the interim authority, which was addressed to mosque imams and preachers and described the military attacks on Kurdish forces as “conquests,” citing Quranic verses in a context that confers religious legitimacy on violence. This constitutes dangerous religious incitement, violates the principle of neutrality of places of worship, and fuels hate speech and violence on ethnic and religious grounds.
In the same context, Rights Monitor documents inciting and degrading practices carried out by armed elements affiliated with the interim authority, including the broadcast of footage showing Kurdish female fighters captured during military operations, the mutilation of their bodies, and the use of humiliating language that violates human dignity. These acts represent clear violations of human rights principles, including the prohibition of cruel and degrading treatment and discrimination based on ethnicity or gender.
In previous reports, Rights Monitor documented video materials—most of which were published by militants affiliated with Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham—showing the commission of grave violations against Kurdish civilians in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, including:
Extrajudicial killings and summary executions.
Arbitrary arrests without any legal justification or known judicial procedures.
Ill-treatment and degrading practices that violate human dignity, against both the living and the dead.
Mutilation of victims’ bodies, in blatant violation of the principle of respect for the dead as stipulated in the Geneva Conventions.
Rights Monitor’s Demands
In line with its human rights and humanitarian responsibility, Rights Monitor calls for the following:
The immediate cessation of all summary executions and violations against Kurdish civilians.
The immediate release of all arbitrarily detained persons, or the disclosure of their fate and the full guarantee of their legal rights.
The opening of independent, transparent, and impartial investigations into all documented violations, and holding those responsible accountable.
Enabling independent media and human rights organizations to have unrestricted access to affected areas.
Calling on the international community and relevant UN mechanisms to assume their legal and moral responsibilities, ensure accountability, and protect civilians in accordance with international law.
Rights Monitor affirms that the protection of civilians is not a political choice but a legal and moral obligation, and that international silence regarding these events contributes to entrenching a culture of impunity and threatens civil peace and the future of coexistence in Syria.
