During last week’s attacks on the predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah in Aleppo, troops of the Syrian transitional government, together with allied jihadist militias, committed serious war crimes. There is evidence that medical facilities were bombed and civilians were deliberately killed. Medical personnel and employees of the aid organization Heyva Sor a Kurd were also abducted. Their whereabouts remain unknown.
Among other targets, the attackers targeted the Khalid Fajr Hospital. The clinic in Sheikh Maqsoud was bombed several times and is no longer functional. At the time of the attacks, there were numerous wounded and civilians there. The abducted employees of the Kurdish Red Crescent—two paramedics Abdulrahman Muhammad and Rami Hussein al-Ali, as well as the driver Youssef Hanan Hakmo—were kidnapped very close to the hospital on their way to transport the wounded.
Co-chair Dilgeş Îsa told the Yeni Özgür Politika newspaper that the incident had been reported to international bodies, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, the relevant UN mechanisms in Geneva, and the Syrian transitional government. When they tried to call the phone of one of the abductees, an unknown person answered. When asked where the person was, he replied mockingly, “He’s here—come and get him.”
No contact with Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah
According to current information, a female medical professional died in one of the bombings against the Khalid Fajr Hospital. According to Heyva Sor a Kurd, all other staff members at the facility were abducted. Two other employees were also killed at the Othman Hospital; they are believed to have been executed. There are also indications that those killed were burned after the attacks. Communication in the affected neighborhoods has completely broken down—telephone and internet connections have been cut off, and access to the neighborhoods has been blocked. It is not yet possible to reliably estimate how many people have been killed or abducted.
Evacuations under fire
Despite ongoing attacks, Heyva Sor a Kurd began preparing evacuation measures on the third day of the offensive. On January 8, the first transport of an aid convoy reached the town of Deir Hafer, but was blocked and fired upon for 48 hours. Only a temporary ceasefire enabled the evacuation of the wounded and dead to areas of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.
The convoy that arrived on January 11 brought 118 injured people and two bodies to safety. At the same time, 750 civilians from 181 families were evacuated from the besieged areas in seven buses. Ten seriously injured people were taken to South Kurdistan via the Sêmalka border crossing to receive medical treatment. The remaining injured were distributed to clinics in Tabqa, Raqqa, and Hesekê.
Need for aid grows – camps overcrowded
Many evacuees have been taken in by relatives in cities such as Raqqa, Hesekê, Qamişlo, and Tabqa. Others have found refuge in the Azadî and Têkoşîn refugee camps. The supply situation there is tense. “Children in particular are under severe psychological pressure. Our teams also provide psychological first aid,” said Îsa. In the Têkoşîn camp alone, 49 families and 115 injured people have been taken in so far, and the number continues to rise. Since December, around 175 families from Shehba have also been living in the camp, seeking refuge in the region after the Islamist militia “Hayat Tahrir al-Sham” (HTS) took power in Damascus. Humanitarian capacities are exhausted.
People are disappearing
It is unclear how many people were in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah before the attacks began – many had already fled from Afrin or Shehba. There is still no reliable information about the full extent of the attacks and the number of victims. According to Heyva Sor a Kurd, it can be assumed that numerous people have been killed and abducted. The autonomous administration authorities are reportedly receiving ongoing inquiries from relatives about the whereabouts of missing family members.
“We know that young and middle-aged men in particular are being systematically abducted,” said Îsa. Targeted identity checks are currently taking place in Aleppo and the surrounding area. People of Kurdish origin or residing in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah are particularly at risk. According to Îsa, around 120,000 people—many originally from Afrin and Shehba—have been forced to return to Afrin. Only a small number have made it to areas under the autonomous administration. People living in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah have no access to food or medical care and are in urgent need of help.
Massacre of a family of 14
Local committees reported to the ANHA news agency that a family of 14 had been massacred in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood. Arrests are also continuing in other parts of Aleppo. According to sources, the perpetrators are acting with extreme brutality.
Yazidi families forced to return to Afrin
At the same time, according to the Free Yazidi Foundation, around 800 Yazidi families were forcibly returned to Afrin, which is occupied by Turkish and jihadist forces. Contact with them has been lost and their current whereabouts are unknown. Another 400 Yazidi families are currently stranded in Aleppo.
Meryem Cirdi from the Yazidi House in Afrin warned that, given the situation, the crimes committed by ISIS in Shengal in 2014—in particular sexual violence and enslavement—could be repeated. A source from the region, who wishes to remain anonymous for security reasons, reported that men were being systematically separated from women and girls – a practice that mirrors ISIS’ pattern during its genocide of the Yazidis. Menaf Cafo from the Yazidi House in Aleppo told Rudaw TV that he had seen ISIS flags in the city again.