A recently circulated video clip shows an element of the forces of the interim authority, known as the “Syrian Arab Army,” threatening the residents of the predominantly Kurdish city of Kobani/Ayn al-Arab in northern Syria.
The element in the video, monitored by “Rights Monitor,” appears with the ISIS flag on his chest and brandishing a knife, saying: “In a few days we will be in Kobani and we will call it Ayn al-Islam.” He added, pointing to his knife: “This is currently sharp, and I will make it worn out from slaughtering so I can enjoy myself, and then it’s on the Shiite pigs, especially the havalat (Kurdish female fighters).”
The circulation of the video comes amid the events witnessed by the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods, both predominantly Kurdish, in the city of Aleppo, during the period from Tuesday, 6 January 2026, until the evening of Saturday, 10 January 2026, following the interim authority’s takeover of the entire area after clashes with local Kurdish forces. During that period, the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood was subjected to intense and repeated shelling, accompanied by widespread violations that included field killings and arrests affecting hundreds of Kurdish civilians, particularly men.
On Saturday, 10 January 2026, the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood witnessed a notable military escalation coinciding with heavy shelling, followed by the implementation of a wide-scale arrest campaign that affected hundreds of civilians, particularly men from the neighborhood, carried out by forces affiliated with the interim authority. The repercussions of these operations also extended to the neighboring Ashrafieh neighborhood, where the disappearance of a large number of people was recorded under similar circumstances.
On Sunday, 12 January 2026, “Rights Monitor” obtained a preliminary list containing the names of 272 missing persons from among the residents of the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods, predominantly Kurdish, in the city of Aleppo in northern Syria, following security and military events that the two neighborhoods have witnessed in recent days.
Rights Monitor had previously documented video materials, most of which were published by armed elements affiliated with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, showing the commission of serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights against Kurdish civilians in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood.
