Violations, looting, displacement in Sheikh Maqsoud, Ashrafiyeh, Bani Zaid

Sheikh Maqsoud, Ashrafiyeh, and Bani Zaid are facing severe humanitarian and security deterioration following assaults by mercenaries of the Syrian interim government and the Turkish occupation, including the Hamzat, Amshat, Nour al-Din al-Zenki, Sultan Murad, and other factions. These attacks have resulted in systematic looting, arbitrary detentions, and large-scale displacement of civilians, most of them from the Kurdish community.

According to the Afrin Human Rights Organization, looting targeted homes and shops in several streets of Sheikh Maqsoud, most notably 20th Street near Martyr Koli Roundabout, Badino Street, 15th Street, and Shkato Intelligence Street opposite the Relations Office. Furniture, electrical appliances, and shop contents were seized, despite the presence of security patrols and the absence of any deterrent measures.

In Ashrafiyeh, sources reported that a number of Kurdish civilians were abducted during ongoing raid operations and taken to unknown locations.

Residents say these developments reflect the scale of grave violations suffered by the three neighborhoods, including home raids, mass arrests, and widespread looting, as well as humiliating coercive practices. These abuses have deepened fear and public anger and forced a growing number of families to flee their homes out of fear of arrest or theft.

Humanitarian reports from UN and rights organizations indicate that the recent attacks have led to serious consequences, including mass displacement and a growing number of missing persons. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated that at least 120,000 people remain displaced from Sheikh Maqsoud, Ashrafiyeh, and Bani Zaid, while contact has been lost with more than 500 people so far.

Those who remain in their homes are also suffering from a severe deterioration in basic services, most notably near-total electricity outages, with generators operating for only two hours per day. Several health facilities have also gone out of service, further worsening the humanitarian crisis.

These conditions come as humanitarian organizations warn of a worsening crisis in Aleppo, especially with continued artillery shelling and drone strikes on Deir Hafer and Maskanah, along with the closure of crossings in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, which is obstructing the delivery of humanitarian aid and increasing civilian suffering.

Residents of the affected neighborhoods are calling for an immediate halt to the violations, the protection of civilians and their property, and accountability for those responsible for looting and arrests, warning that continued lawlessness and the absence of accountability will lead to further humanitarian deterioration in the city.

A-H 

ANHA