The Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) issued a statement regarding the attacks by groups within the interim government and under Turkish control on the neighbourhoods of Şêxmeqsûd, Eşrefiye and Benî Zêd in Aleppo. 

 

The statement on their official website included the following remarks:

 

“The Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria is closely following, with deep concern and condemnation, the statement issued by the military forces affiliated with the Syrian interim government, which included an explicit threat to target the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighbourhoods in the city of Aleppo, classifying them as ‘legitimate military targets,’ and calling for their evacuation through what were described as temporary humanitarian corridors.

 

We categorically affirm that the Syrian Democratic Forces are not present in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighbourhoods, and that these areas are densely populated residential neighbourhoods inhabited by civilians, the majority of whom are Kurdish residents, including large numbers of forcibly displaced people from Afrin who have endured years of injustice and displacement. Accordingly, any military escalation, shelling, or targeting of these neighbourhoods constitutes a blatant violation of international humanitarian law and a continuation of hostile policies that affect the Syrian people in all their components without discrimination.

 

The continued shelling, attacks, and unlawful and indiscriminate escalation against the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighbourhoods, in parallel with the attacks and violations witnessed in Syria’s coastal regions, southern Syria, and other areas, confirm that these practices do not serve the country’s stability. Rather, they contribute to undermining security, fuelling conflict, and pushing Syria further away from national consensus, a political solution, and the desired national unity.

 

Despite our commitment to what was agreed upon in the April 1 agreement, the other party has failed to abide by its provisions and has continued a policy of siege and escalation. We also affirm that, despite our repeated attempts to communicate, open channels for dialogue, and conduct serious negotiations, the Ministry of Defense of the Syrian interim government has so far rejected the option of dialogue and insists on the language of threats and war.

 

We clearly declare that we are not in favor of any military escalation, because the people are the homeland, and they are the first and last losers of wars and battles. Syrians have suffered enough from long years of destruction and fighting, and war has brought nothing but pain, fragmentation, and the loss of hope.

 

Accordingly, we call on officials in the Syrian interim government to assume their moral and national responsibilities regarding what is happening, to return to the path of reason and logic, to adopt dialogue as the sole language for resolving disputes, and to refrain from allowing chaos-makers and agenda-driven actors, who serve only the enemies of the Syrian people and seek to achieve their aims through the destruction and fragmentation of Syria, to exploit the situation.

 

We also call on the sons and daughters of the Syrian people, especially Syrian youth, to distance themselves from the logic of war and weapons, to raise the voice of truth, reject violence, and defend the values of coexistence and brotherhood among all Syrian components.

 

In conclusion, the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria declares its full solidarity with our civilian residents in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighbourhoods, and with all Syrians who are subjected to violations and attacks. It reaffirms its adherence to the option of a democratic political solution and the building of a unified, democratic, decentralized Syria that guarantees rights, dignity, and justice for all its people without exception.”