Autonomous Administration Issues Urgent Appeal Over Targeting a Hospital in Aleppo’s Kurdish Neighborhood

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - A medical facility meant to save lives has become a frontline target. On Friday, the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria issued an urgent public appeal, warning that Khaled Fajr Hospital in Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsud neighborhood is facing systematic and direct attacks that threaten civilians, medical staff, and the wounded.

In its statement, the administration said it was sounding the alarm in light of what it described as the risk of genocide and mass massacres. It addressed its appeal to local and international public opinion, as well as international powers, humanitarian organizations, and human rights institutions, over the continued targeting of Khaled Fajr Hospital from the first day of the attacks on the neighborhood.

The administration stressed that the ongoing shelling of the hospital, as a civilian medical facility, constitutes a war crime and a clear violation of international laws. It said the attacks endanger the lives of patients, the wounded, and medical personnel, while raising serious fears of humanitarian massacres due to the disruption of essential medical services.

According to the statement, the continuation of the bombardment will further exacerbate the humanitarian and health catastrophe, deprive civilians of their right to treatment, increase the number of victims, and spread fear and panic among residents.

The Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria called on international powers, the United Nations, and humanitarian and human rights organizations to intervene immediately to halt the shelling, ensure full protection for the hospital and medical facilities, and guarantee the uninterrupted work of medical teams.

The statement was signed by the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria and dated Jan. 10, 2026.

The urgent appeal comes amid escalating violence and conflicting claims over control in Aleppo’s Kurdish neighborhoods. The Internal Security Forces in Aleppo have categorically denied allegations circulated by what they described as the so-called Ministry of Defense in Damascus claiming control over ninety percent of Sheikh Maqsud, calling the assertions false and misleading.

In an update issued by the Aleppo Internal Security Forces Media Center, the statement said the claims bear no relation to realities on the ground and were presented as an attempt to obscure serious crimes and grave violations committed by militias affiliated with the Damascus government against civilians.

According to the media center, Sheikh Maqsud is witnessing intense street-level clashes with Damascus government militias, during which significant losses have been inflicted on their ranks. It added that, in parallel with the clashes, artillery and tank shelling continues to target the neighborhood in what it described as systematic bombardment aimed at spreading fear among residents and destroying infrastructure, including hospitals, in blatant violation of international and humanitarian laws and norms.

These developments coincide with accusations by the Syrian Democratic Council that the Syrian government violated the Aleppo ceasefire. The council said the Syrian Arab Army breached the truce in the Sheikh Maqsud and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods and continued shelling civilian areas with heavy weapons.

Hassan Mohammad Ali, co-head of the Syrian Democratic Council’s Public Relations Office, said Syrian government forces were not adhering to the ceasefire agreement. He also reported that Khaled Fajr Hospital was struck by tank and missile shelling, causing it to collapse over wounded civilians.

According to the council, attacks carried out during the ceasefire resulted in civilian deaths, including two doctors and five youths from Ashrafiyeh. The council said it remains in continuous communication with the United States and France to generate international pressure to immediately halt the fighting and guarantee the ceasefire, with the aim of launching dialogue to determine a special administrative framework for Aleppo neighborhoods where the majority of residents are Kurdish.

As conflicting narratives persist over control and ceasefire commitments, continued fighting and shelling in Sheikh Maqsud highlight the fragility of current arrangements and the growing risks faced by civilians in Aleppo’s Kurdish neighborhoods.

With hospitals under fire and ceasefire commitments in question, the Democratic Autonomous Administration’s appeal underscores mounting fears that Aleppo’s Kurdish districts are sliding toward a deeper humanitarian catastrophe unless immediate international intervention halts the violence.