Serin Mohammed
Aleppo — Women in the predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods of Ashrafiyeh and Sheikh Maqsoud are reporting serious violations and invasive searches at these makeshift checkpoints. According to testimonies gathered by our agency, HTS militants stop women, inspect their handbags and mobile phones, and even connect to their devices via unauthorized Wi-Fi networks to monitor their communications.

“Our struggle is for self-defense, not aggression”

Dilan Ali, a resident of Sheikh Maqsoud, condemned the ongoing abuses committed by HTS fighters, stressing that the checkpoints they set up after the joint ones are being used to intimidate civilians. “They go through our phones meticulously and illegally, even connecting to them to see who we talk to,” she said.

Ali added, “As residents of Ashrafiyeh and Sheikh Maqsoud—Kurds, Christians, and Syriacs alike—we have never discriminated among ourselves. Our project has always been about self-defense, not aggression or domination. After fourteen years of war, destruction, and siege under the Ba’ath government, the same injustice is now being repeated in an even harsher and more systematic way.”

Calls to uphold the April Agreement

Fahima Hamo, coordinator of the Kongra Star women’s movement in Aleppo, described the current policies imposed on the two neighborhoods as part of “the Turkish occupation’s strategy aimed at breaking the will of a people known for their resilience and resistance.” She emphasized the historic role of the residents in resisting oppression—whether from the Ba’ath regime or from the current Syrian Interim Government.
 

Hamo voiced support for the popular protests that erupted on October 6 against the blockade and road closures around the two districts: “That uprising was a historic step that proved once again the determination of this people. Through our unity, we managed to reopen some roads that had been sealed off by the Interim Government. Yet HTS militants continue to arrest young men based on their ethnic background, and even women are not spared from phone searches and intrusive bag inspections.”

She called on Aleppo’s governor to enforce the terms of the April 1 agreement, stating, “There is no lasting democratic solution unless this agreement is implemented.”

Similarly, Tolin Osman, another resident, condemned the road closures and siege: “They are cutting off roads, abducting young men, and conducting invasive searches—all of which violate the March 10 and April 1 agreements.” She demanded the restoration of essential services such as electricity, water, and heating fuel.

It is worth noting that on October 6, Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods became the scene of open confrontation following a major military escalation by HTS forces representing the Syrian Interim Government. The offensive has deepened the ongoing blockade and sparked widespread protests that were violently suppressed.

The recent assaults constitute a blatant breach of the April 2024 agreement signed between local councils and the Interim Government, which was meant to ensure civilian safety, promote coexistence, regulate internal security, and guarantee the free movement of residents.