Middle East
Members of the Syrian government's security forces stand along a street in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood in Aleppo on January 10, 2026. Photo: Bakr Alkasem/AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - One of Iraq’s most influential Shiite parties, the Badr Organization, has censured the Syrian Arab Army for seizing Aleppo’s Kurdish-majority neighborhoods from those who "sacrificed their blood to expel the Islamic State [ISIS]," sharply criticizing Damascus-aligned factions after the violence killed dozens of civilians and displaced around 150,000 residents.
“Those who fought and sacrificed their blood to expel ISIS are now displaced,” said Abu Mithaq al-Masari, a Badr Organization member, in a Saturday interview with Rudaw. He added, “Those now disguised in government uniform are taking over these areas, and [Kurdish residents'] homes are in ISIS hands.”
Deadly clashes erupted on Tuesday in Aleppo’s Kurdish neighborhoods between Syrian government forces and allied jihadist factions on one side, and Kurdish Internal Security Forces (Asayish) on the other.
Following the rise of ISIS in 2014, the Asayish have been the primary security and counterterrorism force in Kurdish-administered regions, maintaining order in liberated cities and managing high-security camps for ISIS detainees and their families.
Affiliated with the Asayish, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have acted as the de facto military force in northeast Syria (Rojava) and as the main ground partner of the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, playing a central role in the group’s territorial defeat in 2019.
“The Kurds of Aleppo’s Ashrafiyeh and Sheikh Maqsood neighborhoods have always been Syria’s shield against ISIS and fought heroically,” Masari said, lamenting, “It is deeply regrettable that Aleppo has come to this.”
The Badr Organization is an Iran‑aligned Iraqi Shiite political party and armed group that holds influential posts in Baghdad’s federal cabinet and legislature and has significant sway over key security institutions.
For his part, Rahim al-Aboudi, a senior member of the Hikmah Movement - a key component of Iraq’s ruling Shiite Coordination Framework led by prominent cleric Ammar al-Hakim - said clashes in Aleppo were foreseeable "because the new Syrian administration has failed to establish security in a way that accommodates minorities and diverse religious and ideological groups."
Following a swift offensive on December 8, a coalition of opposition forces led by the now-dissolved Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) - then headed by Ahmed al-Sharaa and previously known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani - toppled the regime of longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad. Sharaa was appointed Syria’s interim president in late January 2025.
Before leading HTS, Sharaa headed the al-Nusra Front (Jabhat al-Nusra), which was formed in 2012 as al-Qaeda’s official Syrian affiliate. In July 2016, the group rebranded as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (JFS) and claimed to break from al-Qaeda, though covert ties were widely suspected. In January 2017, JFS merged with other armed factions to form HTS.
Since taking charge of leadership early 2025, Sharaa’s government has faced mounting criticism over its approach to governance as well as its human rights record.
In March, he signed a constitutional declaration emphasizing Islamic jurisprudence, retaining the country’s name as the "Syrian Arab Republic" and its military as the "Syrian Arab Army." The move drew backlash from Christian, Druze, Kurdish, and Alawite communities, who saw it as exclusionary, while his highly centralized rule has also faced widespread criticism.
Aboudi warned that “social pluralism within Syria is under serious threat from the presence of takfiri gangs and terrorist organizations.”
Of note, a takfiri refers to someone who declares other Muslims to be non-believers, often to justify violence or exclusion.
Aboudi added that integrating some of these groups into the Syrian army “is not a realistic solution,” noting that some pursue external agendas.
Similarly, Mohammed Daham, a senior figure in the Sunni Azm Alliance, told Rudaw that any human rights violation - including displacement or ethnic cleansing - constitutes “a breach of international law.”
“We condemn those military operations that target civilians under the pretext of security issues,” he said, warning that “these violations will have negative effects on Iraqi security and stability as well.”
Nahro Mohammed contributed to this report from Erbil.
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