Crimes and massacres committed in Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah neighborhoods by the Syrian transitional government and its affiliated armed groups, backed by the Turkish state, have also drawn reactions from French political parties. The group leader of La France Insoumise Mathilde Panot, the Democratic and Republican Left group leader Stéphane Peu, the Ecologist and Social group leader Cyrielle Chatelain, and La France Insoumise National Assembly deputy and head of the Kurdish Study Group Thomas Portes addressed a letter to President Emmanuel Macron calling on France to act immediately in response to these events.
In the publicly released letter addressed to President Emmanuel Macron, it was noted that following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime, the Syrian people had hopes for a democratic, pluralistic and inclusive state, and that the agreement signed in Damascus on March 10 between interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Commander Mazlum Abdi formed the basis of these expectations. The letter emphasized that the agreement aimed to reunify the country, integrate Kurdish civilian and military institutions into the state apparatus, and guarantee local autonomy in Kurdish-majority areas.
The 10 March agreement was not respected
Despite the agreement, the letter stated, peace talks stalled, the situation worsened, and on January 6 the Syrian army launched attacks on Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo. It noted that Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah have been under siege for seven days, roads have been closed, and access to basic necessities is extremely limited. At least 150,000 people have been displaced, hundreds have been killed or wounded, more than 300 Kurds have been detained, thousands have been held in the neighborhoods, and civilian movement is entirely under the control of the Syrian army.
War crimes carried out
The French politicians pointed to reports that summary executions are continuing and that ransoms have been demanded from some civilians. The letter stressed that summary executions, the bombing of civilian areas and infrastructure, and forced displacement clearly constitute war crimes under international law.
France must act immediately
The letter called on Macron to take urgent steps to allow international observers and journalists to enter the Kurdish neighborhoods of Aleppo, to document the crimes committed by the Syrian army, and to prevent further attacks. It recalled that France has previously played a proactive role in defending the rights of the Kurdish people, regarded as a “loyal ally” in the fight against ISIS, and stressed that negotiations regarding southwestern Syria under Israeli occupation cannot be used as a pretext to ignore massacres against Kurds.
The letter further demanded that France use its full weight within the European Union and the United Nations to ensure an immediate and lasting ceasefire, lift the siege of Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo, and guarantee access for the press and international observers to the area.
The Rojava model is an opportunity for Syria
The French politicians also expressed support for calls for the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) to play an active role in restarting intra-Syrian dialogue and to be included as a guarantor in the political solution process. They noted that preserving the model of coexistence built in Rojava among Kurds, Arabs and Syriacs represents an important opportunity for Syria’s stability and reconstruction.