Legal Statement Rights Monitor – Human Rights Monitor Platform in Syria
On Field Executions and Grave Violations in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh Neighborhoods – Aleppo
Rights Monitor – Human Rights Monitor Platform in Syria, expresses its deep concern over the serious and corroborated information received from the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods, which have a Kurdish majority, in the city of Aleppo in northern Syria. The information indicates that armed groups affiliated with the interim authority, represented by “Hayat Tahrir al-Sham,” have carried out field executions and grave violations against Kurdish civilians and fighters, in the context of a wide-ranging military and security campaign.
The Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood witnessed, on Saturday, 10 January 2026, a military escalation coinciding with intense shelling, accompanied by a large-scale arrest campaign targeting hundreds of Kurdish civilians, particularly men, carried out by forces affiliated with the interim authority.
Sources reported that independent journalists were prevented from entering the neighborhood to cover the events, while journalists loyal to the interim authority were allowed to be present and convey a one-sided narrative, constituting a clear violation of press freedom and the public’s right to access information.
Rights Monitor had previously documented visual materials, most of which were published by armed members affiliated with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, showing the commission of grave violations of international humanitarian law and human rights against Kurdish civilians in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, including:
Extrajudicial killings and field executions.
Ill-treatment and arbitrary arrests without any known legal procedures.
Humiliating practices degrading to human dignity against the living and the dead.
Mutilation of the bodies of victims, in blatant violation of the principle of respect for the dead stipulated in the Geneva Conventions.
Circulated footage dated 10 January 2026, filmed by armed members affiliated with the interim authority, also showed the commission of a massacre inside the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where civilians and a female fighter from the Kurdish forces (local police) appeared among the victims.
The video clips show armed men using shells and grenades inside a room containing bodies, leading to the outbreak of fire at the site, while uttering inciting and degrading phrases against the dead and describing the Kurdish female fighter with terms degrading to human dignity.
In another clip, a truck appears transporting civilians, including a woman, while the armed men detain one person bearing signs of severe torture, before dragging him and executing him in the field.
Another video clip documented the throwing of the body of a deceased Kurdish female fighter from the top of a building in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, accompanied by degrading remarks during filming, in a scene reflecting a dangerous level of violence and violation of human dignity.
Concurrently with these violations, a large number of detainees were transported by buses, with the executing party announcing that they were “fighters from the Kurdish forces,” without providing any information about legal procedures, bringing clear charges, or ensuring fair trial guarantees.
Circulated footage also showed the buses carrying detainees being subjected to insults and verbal incitement by journalists present in the vicinity of the neighborhood, conduct that is considered contrary to journalistic ethics and a violation of international standards for professional coverage in conflicts.
Rights Monitor affirms that these acts may amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and grave violations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law, in particular:
Wilful killing outside the scope of the law.
Cruel and degrading treatment.
Arbitrary detention.
Violation of the sanctity of the dead.
These are crimes that are not subject to statutes of limitations and require individual criminal accountability.
Rights Monitor calls for the following:
An immediate halt to all field executions and violations against civilians.
The release of those arbitrarily detained or the disclosure of their fate and the guarantee of their legal rights.
The opening of independent and transparent investigations into all documented violations.
Enabling independent media to access the affected areas without restrictions.
Calling on the international community and the relevant UN mechanisms to assume their responsibilities and ensure that there is no impunity.
Rights Monitor – Human Rights Monitor Platform in Syria, affirms its continued documentation of violations and follow-up on this case, in commitment to the principles of justice and human rights, and to provide redress to the victims.
