Activists condemn crimes of interim govt. in Sheikh Maqsoud, Ashrafieh

Activists, writers, and artists circulated angry posts on social media denouncing the brutal crimes of the interim government’s mercenaries, backed by the Turkish occupation, in Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, following the spread of videos documenting these abuses.

Writer Maher Sharaf al-Din wrote that the “video of throwing the Kurdish woman from the third floor” documents a shocking crime carried out “amid chants of ‘Allah Akbar’ and insults,” saying it “reveals the perpetrators’ utter lack of humanity and dignity.”

For her part, activist Hanadi Zahlout described the incident as a “war crime,” adding: “Your morals have fallen;however, she is in the heavens.”

In a related context, activist Khurshid Dawi likened the steadfastness of the Kurdish fighters in Sheikh Maqsoud to the epic of “Sparta,” saying that “the few turned into a stance, and steadfastness into a discourse louder than bullets.”

Political writer and analyst Shorsh Darwish offered a similar description, stating: “Sparta has been embodied,” in reference to what he cited from Reuters about roughly 300 fighters remaining in the neighborhood.

Activist Rodi Ali wrote: “My heart was torn out in front of the image where they tore out the heart and eyes of that young man in Sheikh Maqsoud…”

Poet Maryam Tammar also expressed her condemnation, describing the throwing of the body as “an attempt to assassinate human dignity,” while writer Abdullah Sheikho said that mutilating bodies constitutes “a blatant violation of all religious and human values,” citing religious texts that forbid such acts.

The reactions also included artistic and literary voices. Artist Tayar Ali wrote in a post that what happened is “a stain of shame on the foreheads of those who claim to fight terrorism,” while writer Afin Oso stressed that these acts “reflect the brutality of a terrorist regime.”

These reactions, according to observers, reflect a broad state of anger and condemnation within cultural and civil circles, accompanied by calls to hold those responsible for the crimes to account and to protect civilians in the besieged neighborhoods of Aleppo.

A-H 

ANHA