News Center — For the third consecutive day, militants of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) have continued their artillery shelling of residential areas in the neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud, Ashrafieh, and Bani Zaid in the city of Aleppo. This dangerous escalation targets densely populated civilian areas and has resulted in the number of casualties rising to 73 killed and wounded.

In condemnation of the attacks carried out by HTS militants on neighborhoods of the Syrian city of Aleppo, both the Media Center of the Internal Security Forces – Aleppo and the General Council of the Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhoods issued separate statements on Thursday, January 8.

The statement by the Media Center of the Internal Security Forces – Aleppo said:
“The repeated public threats of shelling issued by the so-called ‘Operations Authority’ affiliated with Damascus factions, targeting civilian-populated areas in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods of Aleppo, cannot be considered a legitimate security or military measure. Rather, they constitute direct intimidation of civilians and forced displacement under the threat of weapons or their use. According to international humanitarian law, such conduct is explicitly classified as forced displacement and constitutes a war crime.”

The statement added that these public threats by the so-called “Operations Authority” constitute conclusive legal evidence of criminal intent and represent direct preparation for committing grave violations and deliberate killings, including targeting civilians, destroying civilian infrastructure, and imposing collective punishment. Any harm inflicted on civilians, property, or civilian infrastructure as a result of these declared threats places direct criminal responsibility on the Damascus government and its affiliated entities, as well as on all those who issued, carried out, or covered up these threats.

The statement further emphasized:
“Threatening shelling is not merely a media statement; it is a legal warning of impending crimes. Accordingly, we present this declared threat issued by the Damascus government to public opinion and international human rights institutions as evidence of criminal intent, and we hold the declaring and executing parties fully responsible for any subsequent crimes.”

 

Kurdish Neighborhoods Under Fire

As shelling and attacks continue, the General Council of the Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhoods in Aleppo issued a statement saying:
“In light of the ongoing escalation by jihadists of the Syrian government against Kurdish neighborhoods, we strongly condemn the systematic and indiscriminate shelling and attacks on the Ashrafieh, Sheikh Maqsoud, Bani Zaid neighborhoods, and the al-Shaqeef area.”

The statement noted that these neighborhoods are subjected to systematic and indiscriminate shelling using heavy weapons, tanks, and sniper fire. It called on residents to remain in their homes and not to be misled by the propaganda of the Damascus authority, affirming that, as administrators and council members, they remain present and committed to continuing their work.

The statement added that jihadists of the Damascus authority continue, to this moment, shelling neighborhoods with all types of weapons despite their dense civilian population. It further stated that videos documented a sniper affiliated with HTS targeting a 50-year-old civilian in the head, killing him instantly in the Ashrafieh neighborhood.

 

Rising Casualties

The besieged neighborhoods of Aleppo continue to come under intense artillery and missile shelling. As a result, the number of victims has risen to nine killed, including two women and a child, while the number of wounded has reached 64 civilians, including 15 women and girls.

The shelling today, Thursday, injured three civilians: 18-year-old Khalil Haj Mohammad, 70-year-old Hamid Hamo Habo, and 12-year-old child Aida Hamza Othman. The injured were transferred to hospital for treatment.

The intensity of shelling continues to escalate noticeably, targeting the surroundings of the al-Shaqeef area and Castello Hill, coinciding with a response by the Internal Security Forces to the sources of fire.