On 6 January 2026, the Syrian Transitional Government (STG) under interim president al-Shaara decided to wage a war of aggression against the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Al-Sharaa is known to be a former member of the al-Nusra Front, an offshoot of al-Qaeda. He also subscribes to a jihadist IS mentality and holds a fascist and patriarchal worldview. His misogynistic attitude can be seen in the developments in the current attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The attacks began in the Kurdish neighbourhoods of Aleppo and spread to areas in north-eastern Syria and east of the Euphrates. According to reports, hundreds of thousands of STG fighters, artillery, kamikaze drones and tanks were involved in the attacks. The Turkish Ministry of Defence had officially declared its support for the attacks against the DAANES. Hundreds of civilians were killed, and according to UN reports, more than 120,000 Kurdish residents of Aleppo were displaced. What happened and continues to happen in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighbourhoods of Aleppo was not an isolated security incident or a single military conflict. Rather, it is a new chapter in a systematic policy targeting the Kurds, aimed at breaking their will and destroying the model of coexistence that women in particular have preserved amid war and chaos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The attacks and current developments can be seen in the context of international and regional interests and the use of the Kurdish question as a bargaining chip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The international powers, such as the USA, Israel, Turkey, the UK, and France, pursue an interest aimed at the reorganization and partitioning of the Middle East. This is primarily driven by economic and geopolitical interests. The vision of a multidimensional democratic society, as practiced in North and East Syria, stands in stark contrast to the fascist, misogynistic, and neoliberal model of the imperial superpowers. Turkey is exploiting this interest of the Western powers to continue its decades-long war of annihilation against the Kurdish population. To this end, the Turkish state is working closely with the Syrian transitional government, as evidenced by their shared attack strategy. The jihadist fighters of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) proudly display IS symbols and the Turkish flag in videos and photos, and speak Turkish. The shared IS mentality is evident in the attacks, which explicitly target women, the backbone of society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since the US has now found an ideologically aligned negotiating partner in al-Sharaa in the Middle East, cooperation with the security forces of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northern and eastern Syria has been terminated. Adhering to its economic and geopolitical goals, the US is not intervening in the massacres being perpetrated. Instead, the Anti-ISIS coalition lead by the US stands by and watches as the ISIS prisons are attacked and opened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The silence of the international community on the crimes committed was not neutrality, but rather indirect complicity in the continuation of these violations. Therefore, the true objective of this offensive is to impose a new demographic reality, represented by exhausting the population, depleting the resources for survival, and forcing them into displacement. This constitutes an organized crime against the people and against the women who were forced to uproot themselves from their land. What is happening in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh is an extension of the historical policies of exclusion against the Kurds and a new attempt to break the will of free women who laid the foundations for the protection of society and the development of a pluralistic democratic model. We therefore emphasise that the Kurdish question today is not only a question of national rights, but a fundamental humanitarian issue concerning the right to life, language, political participation and a life in security without fear of repeated displacement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Premeditated attacks<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The attacks on the Kurdish neighbourhoods did not occur suddenly. They were preceded by months of deliberate and suffocating restrictions on living conditions and media incitement, in a clear attempt to pave the way for an attack aimed at the silent displacement of the population, emptying the area of its inhabitants, and reproducing policies of exclusion and denial against the Kurds, but with new tools and different faces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The attacks began by HTS months before January 6, 2026. The STG cites the agreement of March 10, 2025, for a democratic Syria as the reason for the attacks. This agreement, which was constantly stalled by the STG, opened a framework for collaboration rather than conflict. However was often intervened by the Turkish state. The Turkish state’s policy of eliminating the Kurdish population, as well as its own interest in territorial expansion, is evident here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since then the attacks began to accumulate: from a suffocating siege to the closure of crossings with a calculated ban on the entry of medicine and food, which were used as weapons to break the will of the people and humiliate their dignity under the pretext of security. All of this occurred amid the silence of the existing authorities, suspicious complicity, and international silence that encouraged the transformation of civilian lives into a bargaining chip. What happened was premeditated; daily life was targeted before the geographical area was targeted. The siege was not merely a military measure, but a tool to implement agendas that had been carefully prepared and studied before their execution, all in the complete absence of any legal or humanitarian protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Targeted attacks on civilians, especially women, and displacement as a tool of demographic change<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The intense attacks that began on 6 January 2026 in the Kurdish neighbourhoods of Aleppo were not only military in nature, but also targeted residential areas, civil society, women and children. The violations against women in these neighbourhoods were exacerbated by the fact that they were on the front line from the outset of these attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this process, women’s achievements were being deliberately attacked. Women, considered the life force society, build the foundation of a democratic community. Through their initiative and organization, women form communities, commissions, and councils within society. The principle of co-chairs, in particular, is a milestone in establishing fundamental democratic values. For women, organizing means developing a free life and free will. They unite, educate themselves, and develop a perspective that views life, people, and nature as a unified whole. They began developing ecological projects and building a cooperative economy. The strong will of women is clearly evident in their commitment to values \u200b\u200band nature. For women, organizing means being able to breathe freely again and simply be themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the attacks limited their resources and the crushing siege prevented them from obtaining medicine for their children. Special attacks, on the Jineoloji library for example, symbolically attacked the women\u2019s achievements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was women who bore the brunt of the siege, exposed to hunger and fear. Therefore, these violations were not \u2018collateral damage\u2019 but a direct consequence of a policy that considers women to be the weakest link through which society can be broken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The bombing, raids, and constant threats created a perpetual climate of fear, the aim of which was to force residents to flee without any official declaration of displacement\u2014the most dangerous form of displacement. Fear was transformed into a clear message: “Leave or face death.” Displacement became an obligation, not a choice. Residents fled under constant bombardment, without safe passage or any regard for human dignity. Women and children were at the forefront of these convoys, not as symbols of weakness, but as the last line of defense for life. The displaced headed to areas east of the Euphrates, Raqqa, and the Jazeera region, traveling arduous routes, checkpoints, and long distances in search of the safety and security they had lost in their homes. This displacement then began a new wave of displacement within displacement itself. It was not merely a geographical relocation but also a collapse of moral and humanitarian standards and left the displaced without the most basic necessities of life, such as food and medicine, not to mention the psychological trauma they endured. This occurred amid a lack of human justice and a multitude of tragedies and violations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All of this has led to the forced emptying of entire neighborhoods of their original inhabitants, foreshadowing a clear demographic shift and the destruction of the social fabric and collective memory. Civilians are reduced to a temporary humanitarian issue instead of being treated as rights holders, losing their security, safety, and livelihoods, and suffering psychological trauma that replays the displacement scenario they had barely recovered from, while simultaneously increasing economic, social, and moral pressures on host communities. What happened in Aleppos neighborhoods from January 6, 2026 on cannot be interpreted as a mere military incident or the result of a localized clash, but rather as a systematic act of forced displacement with profound political and humanitarian dimensions, targeting the Kurdish and community presence in one of Aleppo’s most resilient and diverse neighborhoods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The silence of international organizations and human rights bodies, or their mere issuance of statements of concern, has transformed them in the eyes of the affected communities from protectors into powerless witnesses, and has contributed to normalizing displacement and violations as inevitable. Thus, the current authorities bear full responsibility for the violations that occurred, whether directly or through silence and complicity. The suffering of the newly displaced people from the Tabqa and Raqqa regions\u2014who were already displaced and had sought refuge in those areas after the events in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh\u2014is beyond description. The residents of Qamishli and Hasakah cities and villages rushed to shelter them in schools and homes. Civil society organizations, women’s organizations, and local residents worked to provide for their most basic needs until a permanent solution could be found for the inhumane violations they endured. According to initial estimates, their numbers have reached over 500 families and are still rising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n International silence<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This can be considered a multi-layered conspiracy, local in its methods, regional in its interests, and international in its silence. The bombing, the siege, the targeting of civilians, and their forced displacement under fire were not the result of chaos, but rather a deliberate decision to depopulate the area and break its collective will. The most profound impact of this conspiracy was not merely the loss of homes, but the shattering of social and psychological security, especially for women who suddenly found themselves responsible for their families and for rebuilding their lives within camps and shelters to which they were forced to flee under conditions created by international and regional actors and their interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The international community has morally failed in the eyes of the displaced people, as well as the host communities in Rojava. Its silence regarding the violations and the lack of accountability have transformed it from a “guarantor of rights” into a silent witness and accomplice to the massacres and abuses. This silence has deepened the loss of trust in the international system and reinforced the conviction that justice is not granted, but rather seized through struggle and organization. Therefore, what happened is not merely a human tragedy, but an open wound in the global conscience. Protecting displaced women and children, documenting the crimes, and raising voices to demand the rights of the displaced in host communities is a political and moral obligation, a defense of the right to life, dignity, and safe return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is happening is an ongoing international and regional conspiracy with evolving forms. When weapons fail, starvation is used; when direct warfare fails, fear, chaos, and the undermining of social stability are employed, particularly through targeting women and children. The silence of the international community that accompanied the displacement of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh is the same silence which accompanies the ongoing massacres and violations. This silence has encouraged the repetition and expansion of the crimes, and entrenched impunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The targeted displacement of the population is a war strategy serving geopolitical and territorial expansion. This interest is primarily pursued by Turkey, which has been waging a war of aggression against the Kurdish population for decades with the aim of building a large Turkish empire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The reality of a democratic society for all population groups in Syria threatens their idea of nationhood being one ethnicity, one language. The strategy of displacing over 120,000 people aims at a demographic and ideological transformation of the region. The forces carrying out these brutal attacks against the predominantly Kurdish population in northern and eastern Syria adhere to a jihadist and fascist ideology. Therefore, this war of aggression must be understood as an ideological war, waged within the framework of the reorganization of the Middle East under the control of Western powers such as the USA, Turkey, and Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This war strategy aims at humanitarian crisis and the suffering of the people. The attempt to eradicate the Kurdish population, their culture, their language, their values, and the achievements of women leaves deep wounds. Above all, it is a psychological warfare strategy aimed at breaking women, robbing them of the possibility of a life of dignity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To stop these war crimes, international forces are called upon to fulfill their responsibilities and do everything within their power. The psychological and military warfare against the predominantly Kurdish population of northern and eastern Syria, evident in this war of aggression, must be stopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Especially the violence against women and children, must be stopped immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead, a democratic solution for Syria must be found in which all the population living here has the right to a life of dignity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This also means that women’s rights and the achievements of the women’s revolution, which women have fought hard for here since 2012, must be guaranteed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To guarantee the rights and dignity of all people, the actions and decisions of EU politicians must be based on the EU human rights conventions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In order for the international community to also take action against human rights violations and for the entire society to be well-informed, media coverage must be diverse, politically sound, and thoroughly researched.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In light of the spreading humanitarian catastrophe in Rojava, humanitarian aid must be provided and delivered to the affected areas via corridors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To ensure this, the Turkish borders must be opened.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On 6 January 2026, the Syrian Transitional Government (STG) under interim president al-Shaara decided to wage a war of aggression against the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES). Al-Sharaa is known to be a former member of the al-Nusra Front, an offshoot of al-Qaeda. He also subscribes to a jihadist IS mentality …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":15010,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[54,32,50,52],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-health","category-rights-and-justice","category-social"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kongra-star.org\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kongra-star.org\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kongra-star.org\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kongra-star.org\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kongra-star.org\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15009"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kongra-star.org\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15009\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15011,"href":"https:\/\/kongra-star.org\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15009\/revisions\/15011"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kongra-star.org\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kongra-star.org\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kongra-star.org\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kongra-star.org\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}