Sheikh Maqsoud, Ashrafieh residents criticize transitional govt. policies

On December 22, factions affiliated with the Syrian transitional government launched a violent and heavy attack using heavy weapons and tanks on the Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhoods in Aleppo, following an assault on the joint checkpoint at Shihan Roundabout.

In this context, residents of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh spoke to ANHA agency about the attack, expressing their dissatisfaction with the repeated assaults carried out periodically by factions affiliated with the government.

Transitional government insists on failing to meet its commitments

Zainab Rashid, a resident of Sheikh Maqsoud, said that the Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhoods are home to all Syrian components, and that despite the signing of numerous agreements, the transitional government continues to refuse to implement their terms. She stressed that the people seek nothing but peace and security, and the application of the call of leader Abdullah Ocalan for “peace and a democratic society.”

Zainab Rashid condemned the attacks on the two neighborhoods, saying: “What is the fault of the children and civilian women who were injured by shell fragments and clashes that erupted yesterday?” She noted that the number of injured reached 19, including children, in addition to the killing of a woman from the Arab component.

The siege is linked to external agendas

For his part, Jamal Ajaj pointed out that residents of the two neighborhoods have suffered for more than 14 years from the siege imposed by the Baath government, considering that the Syrian transitional government is today reproducing the mentality of the former regime.

He noted that the siege imposed on Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud is linked to external agendas, stressing that reaching solutions requires Syrian–Syrian dialogue, saying: “These conflicts serve nothing but the agendas of foreign states.”

He added that Monday’s attacks resulted in a number of civilians being wounded, in addition to damage to shops and homes and the outbreak of several fires in the neighborhood.

Jamal stressed the need to secure heating materials and allow their entry into the two neighborhoods instead of killing and shelling unarmed civilians, and appealed to human rights organizations to intervene to stop the attacks, shelling, and siege.

“They can't and will not break our will”

Jihan Issa, in turn, described what the neighborhood experienced, saying: “We were like other civilians, and suddenly violent clashes erupted and shells fired by the transitional government began falling on the two neighborhoods.”

She added that residents of Sheikh Maqsoud have the right to defend themselves if attacked, considering that “this government seeks to commit massacres against the Kurds, as happened to the Alawite and Druze components,” stressing that “they have not and will not be able to break our will or force us out of our neighborhoods.”

The toll of civilian casualties from the attacks carried out by armed factions affiliated with the Syrian transitional government on the two neighborhoods reached 19 injured, in addition to the killing of one woman.

A-H 

ANHA