Internal Security forces in Aleppo deny Interim Government claims on Sheikh Maqsoud

The Media Center of the Internal Security Forces – Aleppo issued a statement denying the allegations of the interim government, stating: “In a systematic continuation of a policy of lies and misinformation, the so-called ‘Ministry of Defense’ of the Damascus government claimed that those fighting and defending the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood are remnants of the former regime and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), in a cheap attempt to distort the truth and justify its blatant aggression against a safe civilian neighborhood.

We categorically and unequivocally affirm that those defending Sheikh Maqsoud are the sons and daughters of the neighborhood itself, who bear the responsibility of protecting their families, homes, and dignity, at a time when leaders of the Baathist regime occupy positions within the institutions of the current government.

In the same context of fabrications, the Damascus government alleged that our forces killed ten people under the pretext of ‘refusing to fight.’ This fabricated narrative is nothing more than a blatant justification for the crimes of its affiliated militias and a preemptive attempt to cover up the violations committed against civilians. It also confirms our serious concerns regarding the fate of residents who were forced to leave the neighborhood under brutal shelling, before those factions abducted a large number of them.

Killing, burning, and intimidation are well-known and documented methods of the Damascus government’s factions, which they have openly practiced along the Syrian coast and in Suwayda in full view of the world. Today, they continue the same criminal approach through deliberate and continuous shelling of Sheikh Maqsoud, with complete disregard for international law and civilian lives.

We hold the Damascus government and its militias fully responsible for everything that is happening, and we affirm that media misinformation will not conceal the truth, that their crimes will not be erased by lies, and that they will not break the will of the people or the legitimacy of their self-defense in the face of aggression.”

a.k

ANHA