Kurds in Aleppo fear escalation after security tensions
ALEPPO, Syria (North Press) – Nuri Sheikho, co-chair of the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh Neighborhood Council in Aleppo, northwestern Syria, said on Tuesday that residents fear a repetition of the violent scenarios witnessed recently in the Syrian coast and the southern city of Suwayda, amid growing security tension in the area.
Sheikho said that the Internal Security Forces (Asayish), tasked with maintaining security in the two Kurdish neighborhoods, continue to protect residents and prevent further escalation.
He warned that if the situation deteriorates, there are serious fears of potential massacres against civilians.
He added that several civilians were killed and others wounded in attacks carried out by government forces, though he did not provide an exact number of casualties.
Sheikho described the situation in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh as “exceptional and dangerous,” noting that the two neighborhoods have been completely cut off from the rest of Aleppo.
On Monday evening, the two Kurdish neighborhoods experienced clashes between the Asayish forces and the security forces of the transitional government after the latter closed all entrances to the neighborhoods, preventing anyone from entering or leaving.