The Kurdish-populated neighborhoods of Aleppo, Sheikh Maqsoud (Şêxmeqsud), Ashrafiah (Eşrefiyê), and Bani Zaid (Benî Zeyd) are facing a severe humanitarian crisis under a tight blockade imposed by Turkey-backed armed mercenary groups affiliated with the Syrian Transitional Government. Residents say that for more than four months, entry of basic needs has been blocked, leaving the area grappling with hunger, shortages of medicine, and an escalating energy crisis.
The Health Council of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiah neighborhoods announced yesterday in a press statement that shortages of fuel, medicine, and electricity caused by the Syrian Transitional Government’s siege policies have brought healthcare services to the brink of collapse.
Dr. Osman Sheikh Issa, co-chair of the Health Council of Sheikh Maqsoud, Ashrafiah, and Bani Zaid neighborhoods in Aleppo, spoke to the ANF, describing the situation as “an unprecedented brutal attack” and saying that practices reminiscent of the sieges imposed during the former Baath regime have been reintroduced.
Dr. Sheikh Issa said that although there was a brief sense of relief following the collapse of the Baath regime, systematic measures are now being implemented to break the will of the population. He said: “Arrests, detentions, interrogations, and the obstruction of basic needs are being applied in a systematic manner to crush the people’s will.”
Four-month siege, two major attacks: They want to discipline the people through hunger
Dr. Osman Sheikh Issa said that Turkey-backed mercenary groups al-Hamzat Division and al-Amshat Division, affiliated with the Syrian Transitional Government, continue their hostility toward the populations of the two neighborhoods, whose people have resisted for 14 years through organization, self-defense, and legitimate demands. Recalling the heavy attacks carried out on 6 October and 22 December in particular, he stressed that these assaults were repelled by the people’s resistance. Following their defeat, he said, the siege and embargo were further tightened. He said: “By blocking the entry of medicine, they are encouraging disease; by cutting off basic needs, they want to discipline the people through hunger.”
Dr. Sheikh Issa noted that for four months, the entry of fuel, flour, gas, and diesel has been completely blocked. He added that during the 22 December attack, power lines that had provided general electricity to the neighborhoods, even if only for a few hours, were deliberately targeted and that repairs were not permitted.
He also said that the area has been experiencing a total electricity blackout for three weeks, adding that Mahmud Ahmed, an official at the Aleppo Electricity Directorate, stated: “Even if President Ahmed al-Sharaa (al-Jolani) gives the order, I will not supply electricity to these neighborhoods.”
Schools left in the cold, children denied education
Dr. Osman Sheikh Issa said that one million liters of diesel allocated by the Aleppo administration for schools were deliberately not delivered to the three schools in Sheikh Maqsoud, Ashrafiah, and Bani Zaid, and he also said:“Children are forced to study in the cold. This is a clear case of collective punishment.”
Insults and threats at checkpoints
Dr. Sheikh Issa said access to the neighborhoods has been largely sealed off, with only two of seven main roads, one for vehicles and one for pedestrians, partially open. He noted that even these routes are subject to heavy control. He added: “People can leave on foot, but they are not allowed to carry anything with them. Young people are exposed to threats, insults, and accusations of ‘treason.’ At the checkpoints, psychological warfare is waged against civilians with phrases such as ‘people of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)’ and ‘terror people.’”
Hospital generator fuel is close to running out
Dr. Osman Sheikh Issa said daily life in the neighborhoods is entirely dependent on diesel, noting that bakeries, hospitals, and electricity systems are operating solely on generators, while the four-month-long fuel blockade has pushed many essential services to the brink of collapse.
He explained that the Martyr Khalid Fecir Hospital, which serves not only residents but also other parts of Aleppo, operates through three generators that require between 30,000 and 35,000 liters of diesel per month. Dr. Sheikh Issa warned that if the remaining reserve fuel is depleted, all services, starting with the hospital, will come to a complete halt.
He underlined that such a shutdown would disable incubators used for premature babies and many other life-saving units, stressing that the lives of dozens of patients would be directly at risk.
Cancer patients unable to access treatment
Dr. Osman Sheikh Issa said shortages of medicine and medical supplies have reached critical levels, adding that winter conditions are having devastating effects, particularly on the elderly and children. He said breast, kidney, and heart conditions are worsening, and that many cancer patients who need treatment outside the neighborhood are unable to leave. Sheikh Issa said, “There are many cancer patients who should be receiving treatment outside the city. They cannot leave the neighborhood for chemotherapy. There are also no medicines available inside the neighborhood for these treatments. In fact, even medication for some basic illnesses cannot be found.”
Aleppo administration and transitional government are responsible
Dr. Sheikh Issa said that under the April 1 Agreement, the security of the neighborhoods is formally the responsibility of the Internal Security Forces and the Aleppo administration, but that the reality on the ground is very different. Sheikh Issa added: “In practice, the Aleppo forces are extremely passive and helpless in the face of the armed groups enforcing the siege. They do not intervene.”
Sheikh Issa concluded with a call to the international community, holding the Aleppo administration and the Syrian Transitional Government directly responsible for the policy of hunger and siege. He also said, “Human rights organizations and international institutions must not remain silent in the face of the humanitarian catastrophe confronting the people of Aleppo.”