ECR Statement on the Situation in Aleppo
Solidarity with the Kurds of Aleppo:
Hands off Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh!
A statement by Emergency Committee for Rojava
January 8th, 2026
For several days, the Syrian Transitional Government has been carrying out an escalating assault on Aleppo's Kurdish-majority neighborhoods, Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh, attacking residential communities with rockets, artillery, small arms, suicide drones, and ground incursions. ANHA news agency has documented a death toll of 13 civilians and 64 injured, including children, some critically. Many buildings have sustained serious damage, including hundreds of homes, and number of essential service facilities, including a hospital. Thousands of local residents have already fled, while most remain trapped inside the neighborhoods, which have been declared a "military zone," and placed under a total siege.
The government's actions represent a grave violation of human rights, and a dangerous escalation that jeopardizes prospects for peace and threatens to plunge Syria into a deepening cycle of violence. Moreover, these attacks have once again violated the agreement between the Syrian state and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) signed in April of last year, which was a critical step towards reunifying the country while respecting the self-determination of local communities. This agreement permitted the free movement of local residents, the retention of their own internal security force (Asayish), and the demilitarization of the areas surrounding the neighborhoods.
Following state-backed massacres of Alawites on the Syrian coast, and of Druze in Suwayda, the new Syrian regime has now set its sights on Aleppo's historic Kurdish communities in what can only be interpreted as an ethnic cleansing operation. As Syrian Kurdish diplomat Ilham Ahmed described it in a recent statement, these attacks amount to "a war of extermination against the Kurds."
The neighborhoods' legally-recognized internal security forces continue to defend their communities, and SDF Commander Mazlum Kobani is pushing Damascus for a ceasefire. But it is urgent that the U.S State Department and Congress as well as other international players forcefully condemn the aggression against these Kurdish neighborhoods, express support for Syrian Kurdish communities, and demand that the Syrian Transitional Government carry out the following actions:
The immediate cessation of all attacks.
The immediate lifting of the “military zone” designation over the neighborhoods.
An end to the government-enforced blockade.
Resumption of peace negotiations with the SDF.
The United Nations, the United States, the Arab League, and the European Union must also intervene to stop Turkey from supporting its proxy militias fighting the Kurds on behalf of the Damascus government.
We express our solidarity with the people of Rojava, and support their call for a pluralistic and democratic Syrian constitution that respects the rights of all communities to peace, security, and self-determination.
Syria belongs to all Syrians!
Authentic democracy is the only path to lasting peace!
- Emergency Committee for Rojava