The Afrin Human Rights Organization – Syria reported that several areas in Aleppo and Northeast Syria, including the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods in the city of Aleppo, Kobani, and other areas in Rojava Kurdistan, witnessed violations and crimes during January 2026 committed by armed factions affiliated with the Syrian Ministry of Defense and other unidentified groups.
Killings
Afrin:
Seven people were killed, including four women killed by unknown perpetrators and motives, one young man who was killed and beheaded in al-Tabqa, one civilian killed while fleeing from al-Tabqa toward Afrin, and one man killed as a result of displacement from al-Raqqa.
Aleppo:
More than 1,200 people, including women and children, were killed as a result of shelling on the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods by factions affiliated with the Syrian Ministry of Defense, of whom 100 victims were documented.
In addition, one infant was killed due to inhaling tear gas inside al-Yassin Hospital in the city of Aleppo.
According to forensic medicine sources, more than 270 bodies remain in the forensic refrigerator in the Jib al-Qubba neighborhood in Aleppo, and some were buried in the New al-Naqareen Cemetery without allowing their families to obtain information about them.
Kobani:
A total of 21 people were killed, including one young man during displacement from al-Raqqa, six members of one family during displacement from al-Raqqa, one young man during displacement from al-Raqqa, one girl killed as a result of shelling on the Kobani countryside, five people killed due to shelling on the Kobani countryside, six members of one family during displacement from al-Raqqa, and the killing of a lawyer during displacement from al-Raqqa.
Kidnapping and Arrest
Afrin:
Four people were arrested, including three young men and one young woman.
Aleppo – Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh:
More than 2,000 people, including women and children, most of them young men, were kidnapped and arrested following the latest battles in the two neighborhoods during January, with some still considered missing.
Tal Hasel:
A lawyer was arrested while traveling from the city of Aleppo to his hometown and was later released.
Injury and Harm
Two women were injured during displacement from al-Tabqa toward al-Hasakah.
In the city of Aleppo, more than 150 people, including women and children, were injured due to shelling and clashes in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods.
In Kobani, three children were injured due to shelling on the countryside, while seven people, including women and children, were injured as a result of shelling on the Kobani countryside.
The Afrin Human Rights Organization – Syria stated that these figures remain approximate due to difficulties in accessing accurate data following the deterioration of the security and humanitarian situation in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh, as well as in al-Tabqa and al-Raqqa, noting that the real number of victims is much higher.
The organization added that the military operation took place when forces of the Syrian Ministry of Defense attacked the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods in the city of Aleppo on 6 January, and resumed on 13 January by targeting areas under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces in Northeast Syria.
The attack began in eastern Aleppo province around the towns of Deir Hafir and Maskanah, then expanded on 17 January to the provinces of al-Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor. It temporarily stopped on the evening of 18 January following the signing by Ahmed al-Sharaa of a 14-point agreement under the sponsorship of the US Special Envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, stipulating state control over Deir ez-Zor, al-Raqqa, and al-Hasakah, the integration of the SDF into the Syrian army, and the arrangement of a meeting between al-Sharaa and Mazloum Abdi the following day.
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