UN Says 150,000 Displaced as Death Toll Rises in Aleppo’s Kurdish Neighborhoods

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - Renewed fighting in Aleppo has driven a wave of displacement and civilian casualties, with the United Nations saying around 150,000 people have been forced from their homes as heavy shelling damages residential areas and critical infrastructure across the city.

The United Nations said renewed fighting in Aleppo killed at least nine people and injured 55 others, while approximately 150,000 people have been displaced. The UN said heavy shelling is damaging homes and critical infrastructure, adding that UN partners are mobilizing to respond to growing humanitarian needs.

Renewed fighting in Aleppo, #Syria killed at least 9 people and injured 55.

Around 150,000 have been displaced.

Heavy shelling is damaging homes and critical infrastructure.
@UN and partners are mobilizing to respond to growing needs.

Learn more: https://t.co/wsMzlbI5wu pic.twitter.com/YbPFRTj80N

— UN Humanitarian (@UNOCHA) January 9, 2026

At least 23 civilians have been killed as violence escalated in Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsud and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Rami Abdulrahman, the director of the observatory, attributed responsibility for the ongoing violence and reported massacres in the Kurdish neighborhoods to Ahmed al-Sharaa.

In a statement addressing the escalating military offensive in Sheikh Maqsud and Ashrafiyeh, Abdulrahman said the current campaign represents a continuation of the policies of the previous regime and targets a population that played a key role in the fight against ISIS.

Speaking to Kurdistan24, Abdulrahman said the observatory recorded 98 civilians wounded during a three-day escalation. He added that overall fatalities linked to the clashes in the area have reached 116 since the fighting began.

Earlier, Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsud neighborhood was declared a closed military zone after statements carried by state media SANA quoted the Operations Body of the Syrian Arab Army as announcing a full curfew starting at 6:30 p.m. and continuing until further notice. The statements urged civilians to stay away from windows, move to lower floors, and avoid approaching locations associated with the SDF organization.

At the same time, the Internal Security Forces in Aleppo issued a statement regarding the targeting of a hospital in Sheikh Maqsoud. The statement said the so-called Ministry of Defense in the Damascus government published a map identifying sites to be shelled in the neighborhood, including the civilian Khalid Fajr Hospital, which it said had been subjected to four consecutive artillery strikes since the previous day.

The Internal Security Forces said listing a civilian medical facility on a publicly announced targeting map constitutes documented evidence of prior criminal intent and amounts to a war crime under international humanitarian law, which prohibits targeting medical facilities. The statement held the Damascus government and its affiliates fully responsible for any harm to civilians, medical facilities, or civilian infrastructure.

Responding to the publication of the map, Farhad Shami, Head of the SDF Media Center, said armed factions affiliated with the Damascus government, including al-Amshat, al-Hamzat, and Nour al-Din al-Zenki, carried out two attempted incursions into the Sheikh Maqsud neighborhood from the Wadi al-Zaytoun axis with direct support from tanks and heavy weapons.

“Internal Security Forces successfully thwarted both attempts and repelled the attack, forcing the attacking factions to retreat and withdraw from the axis,” Shami said. He added that Sheikh Maqsud has been subjected to ongoing artillery shelling for the fourth consecutive day by factions affiliated with the Damascus government.

As displacement deepens and civilian casualties rise in Aleppo, UN agencies and rights monitors warn that continued fighting, shelling, and the targeting of vital infrastructure are driving an escalating humanitarian crisis in the city’s Kurdish neighborhoods.