News Center — Human rights and health institutions in North and East Syria affirmed that attacks targeting civilians in Aleppo constitute a blatant violation of international humanitarian law and amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, calling for immediate action to halt the violations and open safe corridors.

On Saturday, January 10, the Health System in North and East Syria issued a statement warning of severe humanitarian and health consequences resulting from the ongoing military escalation and the targeting of residential neighborhoods and medical facilities in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh districts of Aleppo.

The statement stressed that these attacks represent a grave violation of international humanitarian law and rise to the level of war crimes, threatening the lives of thousands of civilians and signaling a large-scale catastrophe.

It noted that continued attacks place medical and ambulance personnel at risk while performing their humanitarian duties and obstruct the provision of essential healthcare. The statement called on the international community and humanitarian organizations to urgently intervene to stop the violations, open safe corridors for medical supplies, and evacuate the wounded, emphasizing that “the voice of humanity will not be silenced, and civilians are not alone in the face of the war machine.”

The statement further explained that the assaults on these neighborhoods constitute a clear breach of the March 10 agreement signed between the Syrian Interim Government and the Syrian Democratic Forces, which stipulates a cessation of military operations across Syria.

It added that the Syrian Interim Government has shifted from political dialogue to the use of excessive force and heavy weaponry against unarmed civilians, in denial of human rights and in response to external agendas aimed at breaking the will of residents and undermining the gains achieved through immense sacrifices in the fight against terrorism.

The statement emphasized that the systematic targeting of hospitals and health centers has rendered most of them out of service, alongside the imposition of a suffocating siege that prevents the entry of medicines and medical supplies and obstructs ambulance operations. This has occurred amid the near-total depletion of essential medical materials, posing a serious threat to the lives of thousands of civilians—particularly women, children, the elderly, and chronically ill patients—and increasing the risk of disease outbreaks due to destroyed infrastructure and the absence of primary healthcare.

The Health System described what is happening in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh as a fully constituted war crime, holding the Syrian Interim Government and its supporting forces fully responsible for the massacres and their repercussions on humanitarian and health stability in the region. It called on the international community, the UN Security Council, and guarantor parties to agreements to act immediately to halt the military escalation and hold those responsible accountable.

The statement also urged international organizations—particularly the World Health Organization, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and Médecins Sans Frontières—to establish safe humanitarian corridors for the delivery of medical supplies and the evacuation of the wounded.

The statement concluded by affirming that the continued military escalation and targeting of residential areas and health facilities constitute a direct assault on the right to life and a systematic violation of humanitarian values and international conventions. It warned that international silence regarding these crimes amounts to complicity and encourages impunity. The Health System renewed its full solidarity with the residents of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh, stressing that the voice of humanity will remain present in the face of the war machine and that the right of peoples to healthcare and dignity cannot be taken by force.