SDF: continued attacks on Sheikh Maqsoud- Ashrafieh could return Syria to a battlefield

The SDF Media Center issued a statement to the public a short while ago regarding the attacks on the Sheikh Maqsoud, Ashrafieh, and Bani Zeid neighborhoods in Aleppo. The statement warned that the continuation of this aggression will lead to serious repercussions not limited to the two neighborhoods or the city of Aleppo, but could return all of Syria to an open war zone.

The statement read as follows:

"The General Command of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) affirms that the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods have been completely besieged by Damascus government forces for over six months. They pose no military threat whatsoever, nor can they serve as a launching point for any attack on Aleppo. The claims propagated by bloodthirsty elements within the Damascus factions regarding any intention or military action by our forces originating from these two neighborhoods are false and fabricated, used as a pretext to justify the siege, bombardment, and massacres perpetrated against civilians.

We categorically affirm that the SDF has no military presence in Aleppo. We withdrew publicly and in a manner documented by the media, in accordance with a clear agreement, and security responsibilities were handed over to the Internal Security Forces. The reemergence of these baseless arguments serves only to provide political and military cover for the ongoing brutal assault on safe residential areas.

We call upon the guarantor states, as well as those responsible within the Syrian government who claim to uphold national unity, to assume their responsibilities." We demand an immediate end to the siege, bombardment, and military offensive targeting innocent civilians in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods without any justification.

We warn that the continuation of this aggression against civilians will lead to serious repercussions not limited to the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods or the city of Aleppo alone, but will plunge all of Syria back into open warfare. Those who insist on using force against civilians will bear full responsibility for this.

The General Command of the Syrian Democratic Forces is closely monitoring the situation with utmost sensitivity, in coordination with all parties concerned with the safety and security of our people in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods. It affirms that the siege, the threat of force, the targeting of civilians, and their use as bargaining chips or human shields constitute crimes that are unacceptable and condemned by all legal and humanitarian standards.

ANHA