Aleppo fighting sparks mass protests across northeast Syria

Shafaq News– Damascus

Thousands of Syrians protested on Thursday across towns in northeast Syria against a government military operation targeting the predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh in the northern city of Aleppo.

Speaking to Shafaq News, witnesses reported that demonstrators waved flags of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the city of Qamishli and held photographs of civilians killed in shelling of the two districts, calling for an immediate halt to the offensive.

Shivan Sheikho, a displaced resident from Afrin, told Shafaq News that more than 100,000 people had fled the neighborhoods since fighting escalated, most of them already displaced from other parts of northern Syria. He said many civilians remained trapped without electricity, communications, or sufficient food, while hospitals had sustained damage.

Residents feared reprisals based on identity, he explained, citing past violence against minority communities elsewhere in Syria, urging the United Nations and the United States to intervene to stop the fighting and protect civilians.

Shafaq News correspondent reported that Syrian government forces had advanced into Ashrafieh and Bani Zaid districts, triggering heavy clashes with Kurdish internal security forces, known as Asayish. The advance followed artillery and missile strikes that hit dozens of buildings, killing more than 10 fighters from both sides.

In a statement, the Syrian government accused the SDF of being behind the escalation and violating the ceasefire agreement reached on April 1. It said the operation aimed to secure Aleppo’s outskirts, remove sources of fire, protect civilians, and prevent further instability.

Damascus also demanded the withdrawal of what it described as “militia forces” from Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh, saying their presence “threatened civilians” and obstructed political solutions.