Armed faction assaults Kurdish youths in Aleppo – Rights group
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Armed members of the Turkish-backed Sultan Suleiman Shah faction, known as al-Amshat, assaulted on Monday a group of Kurdish youths in Aleppo city, amid escalating security harassment and tightening restrictions on Kurdish neighborhoods.
According to the Human Rights Organization – Afrin, a group of gunmen wearing black clothing and masks arrived in a white pickup truck at the al-Zira’a park entrance in the vicinity of the Kurdish neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsoud and physically assaulted and insulted several young Kurds, accusing them of “collaborating with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).”
The organization said on its official Facebook account that the gunmen arrested three young men from Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood. One of them was later released, while the fate of the other two remains unknown. Their families fear they could be subjected to ill-treatment or torture.
This incident comes amid a growing state of fear and chaos in Aleppo, as the Syrian government’s security forces have recently erected new checkpoints and intensified security restrictions at the entrances of both Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods. The moves are seen by residents as attempts to intimidate civilians and sow instability.
The two Kurdish-majority neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh remain under a strict blockade imposed by the Syrian transitional government, worsening daily hardships for residents who struggle to access food, medicine, and basic necessities.
On Oct. 6, the two neighborhoods experienced clashes between the Kurdish 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. The clashes led to the injury of at least 15 people of the Kurds who suffered suffocation after government forces used tear gas.
In April 1, the SDF withdrew its military forces from the neighborhoods following an agreement reached between the Civil Council of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh and the Syrian transitional government. The deal recognized the neighborhoods’ distinct security, administrative, and service status and established a framework for cooperation with relevant institutions in Aleppo to safeguard stability and ensure the continuation of local governance and essential services.