Residents of Sheikh Maqsoud share what they witnessed

In recent days, the neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh in Aleppo have experienced a tragic situation, as mercenaries of the Syrian Interim Government besieged the two neighborhoods and began randomly shelling them with heavy weapons, causing widespread destruction and spreading terror among civilians, including children, women, and the elderly.

This morning, hundreds of survivors of the Syrian Interim Government mercenaries’ attacks arrived from Sheikh Maqsoud, after putting up significant resistance against the mercenaries.

Testimonies from residents who reached Raqqa this morning confirmed that the attacks were accompanied by looting, theft, and killings, with tragic scenes in hospitals that received dozens of injured civilians, including children as young as two and elders over seventy.

The displaced residents explained that the mercenaries used brutal methods, aiming at destruction, killing, and forced displacement to serve external agendas, primarily Turkish ambitions.

Mohammed Sheikho, a resident of Sheikh Maqsoud, told ANHA agency that mercenaries affiliated with the Interim Government entered the neighborhood in a brutal manner, using random shelling with artillery, tanks, and aircraft, causing widespread destruction and civilian casualties, especially at Khalid Fajr Hospital.

He emphasized that the goal of these attacks is not revolution but destruction, killing, and looting, noting that the events reflect foreign agendas seeking to destabilize the region.

Sheikho added that the scenes in the hospital were tragic, with the wounded and martyrs from the neighborhood and its residents arriving continuously, including children, women, and elders. He confirmed that residents are living in fear and experiencing forced displacement.

Sheikho condemned the international silence regarding violations in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh, which targeted innocent civilians, children, and women.

Hamza Habash, also a resident of the neighborhood, said that what is happening today continues the mercenaries’ approach, which carries no national project but seeks to sow discord among Arabs, Kurds, and other communities.

He explained that these mercenaries commit crimes against civilians, exploiting the situation to achieve their interests through killing, looting, and rape.

Habash noted that the recent attacks caused widespread displacement, leaving civilians homeless after their houses were destroyed and their vehicles and civilian facilities targeted. He warned that the continuation of these crimes threatens Syrian unity and their future.

An 11-year-old girl has not eaten for three days

Eleven-year-old Arin Suleiman recounted her suffering and that of the other children in Sheikh Maqsoud under continuous shelling, stating that she had not eaten for three days due to fear and panic.

She said that the sounds of artillery, tanks, and aircraft never left their ears, and that she had witnessed firsthand the injured and martyrs among her family and neighbors being taken to hospitals.

Arin added that children are living in constant fear, having lost any sense of safety, and were forced to flee toward northern and eastern Syria to escape the shelling. She emphasized that the children’s plight is the harshest aspect of these events, as they are deprived of their basic rights to life, education, and play, calling on the world to recognize their suffering and work to end the war and bring peace.

A-H 

ANHA