To the Public Opinion

On January 6, 2026, the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods in the city of Aleppo were subjected to a wide-scale military attack launched by factions affiliated with the Ministry of Defense of the Syrian Interim Government, as part of a Turkish plan and with undisclosed support from international and regional powers. This attack represents a new chapter in the series of targeting the Kurdish presence as an integral component of the city of Aleppo, and it comes as an extension of the grave violations and massacres that have affected the residents of the Syrian coast and the people of the Suwayda governorate.

The attack lasted for six consecutive days, and at its core, it was an attack by states on two residential neighborhoods, where various heavy weapons were used against simple individual firearms. Thousands of armed group members, including elements from ISIS, participated in the attack, while hundreds of internal security forces stood in defense. It was an unequal battle in every aspect, far from the humanitarian values, moral principles, and internationally recognized rules of war.

Despite this, our comrades in the Internal Security Forces faced this aggression with historic and heroic resistance, defending civilians and protecting our people in the two neighborhoods. During six days of steadfastness and courageous resistance against various forms of heavy weaponry, our heroes wrote the highest meanings of sacrifice and devotion. From the two heroic leaders Ziad and Azad, who broke the fiercest of attacks and led the resistance with unyielding will, to comrades Hawar, Delbireen, Fian, Frashin, Rojbin, and Deniz, who embodied through their heroic acts the highest levels of connection to the values of their people and their cause, their sacrifices will remain immortal in the hearts and consciences of our people forever.

The seizure of the two neighborhoods by the armed groups affiliated with the Ministry of Defense cannot be described as a victory. It is, in fact, an act of betrayal and a major crime committed by a regime that claims to represent the state while killing its citizens and violating their dignity. A regime that claims to uphold Islam, yet practices the mutilation of corpses, insults community components, and commits clear war crimes. Any authority that seeks support from another state against its own people loses its legitimacy, no matter how much international support it receives, because the people alone are the source of legitimacy. The use of tanks and heavy artillery against residential neighborhoods confirms the weakness and fear of this authority, and does not reflect its strength; it will remain a stain on the history of Syria.

We affirm that the will of our people, who have resisted siege and injustice for decades, whether under the rule of the Ba’ath Party or during the period of the Interim Government, alongside the heroic resistance demonstrated by our male and female fighters, is the true victor. We also affirm that the massacres, violations, and insults committed against our people and martyrs will not go unpunished, and their wounds will remain alive in our conscience until the responsible parties are held accountable.

Based on the serious practices and violations that occurred during these days, we call on international, human rights, and humanitarian organizations to bear their responsibilities and monitor the humanitarian and security situation in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods, as our people continue to face brutal assaults, violations of human dignity, field executions, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and demographic change. We also demand the presence of an international force in the two neighborhoods to prevent further crimes, as there is a complete lack of trust in the state’s security forces, which are led by individuals with extremist and ISIS-like ideologies.

Since the main objective of this attack is to bring about demographic change, we call on our steadfast people in the two neighborhoods to hold onto their homes, and we urge those who were forced to flee to return to their homes. In conclusion, while we are fully aware of the suffering our people endure, we, in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, assure that we will mobilize all our material and moral resources to alleviate the effects of this war and will stand by our people wherever they are and under all circumstances.

Mercy for the martyrs and swift recovery for the wounded.

The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria

January 11th, 2026