Sheikh Maqsood Explained

Official Name:Sheikh Maqsood
Native Name:Şêx Meqsûd
الشيخ مقصود
Pushpin Map:Syria Aleppo#Syria
Pushpin Mapsize:250
Settlement Type:Neighborhood
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:City
Subdivision Name1:Aleppo
Subdivision Type2:de facto
Subdivision Name2:YPG
Unit Pref:Metric
Population As Of:May 2016
Population Total:30,000[1]
Timezone:EET
Utc Offset:+2
Timezone Dst:EEST
Utc Offset Dst:+3
Coordinates:36.2361°N 37.1517°W

Sheikh Maqsood (Arabic: ٱلشَّيْخ مَقْصُود|aš-Šayḵ Maqṣūd, Kurdish: Şêxmeqsûd, شێخ مەقسوود, pronounced as /ar/), sometimes spelled al-Sheikh Maqsoud, Maqsud or Maksud, is a Kurdish-majority neighborhood in the city of Aleppo, Syria.[2] [3] [4] It is controlled by the People's Protection Units (YPG).[5]

Syrian Civil War

See also: Battle of Aleppo (2012-2016). During the Syrian Civil War, the Kurdish-majority People's Protection Units (YPG) took control of the neighborhood.[6] Separated from the larger Kurdish regions of Syria, Sheikh Maqsood had been vulnerable to assaults by the Al-Nusra Front and other Islamist rebel groups[7] [8] which were besieging the district from all directions but the south and west until they were driven back by pro-government forces in 2016.

Islamist rebel groups frequently shelled Sheikh Maqsood.[9] [10] [11] [12] In May 2016, Amnesty International's regional director suggested that the attacks on Sheikh Maqsood constituted war crimes. Between February and April 2016, more than 83 civilians were killed by the attacks.[1] In mid-June 2016, Russia accused the rebel militias of causing the death of over 40 civilians that month. A Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) spokesman accused rebels of causing 1,000 civilian deaths and injuries, through their shelling of Sheikh Maqsood.[13]

A United Nations report from February 2017 came to the conclusion that, while during the siege of Eastern Aleppo the attacks against Sheikh Maqsoud decreased, Islamist rebel groups affiliated with Fatah Halab, after vowing to take revenge on the Kurds in Sheikh Maqsoud, intentionally attacked civilian neighborhoods of the Kurdish enclave – killing and maiming dozens of civilians – and that these acts constituted the war crime of directing attacks against a civilian population.[14] [15] In February 2023, the neighborhood was affected by an earthquake.[16]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Syria: armed opposition group committing war crimes in Aleppo - new evidence. Amnesty International. 13 May 2016.
  2. https://web.archive.org/web/20141122121007/http://aleppo.firstmilegeo.com/governance.html Aleppo - Governance
  3. http://caerusassociates.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Caerus_AleppoMappingProject_FinalReport_02-18-14.pdf Mapping the conflict in Aleppo, Syria
  4. Web site: Conflict within a conflict: Aleppo's Sheikh Maqsoud. 2020-08-13. www.aljazeera.com.
  5. Web site: Reuters | Breaking International News & Views. 23 June 2023. Reuters.
  6. Web site: Have Syria's Kurds Had a Change of Heart? . Nisman . Daniel . 8 April 2013 . Huffington Post . 10 November 2015 . Reports indicate that YPG militiamen and Syrian rebels have agreed to share control of the strategic Sheikh Maqsood District of northern Aleppo.
  7. Web site: Syria: nearly half rebel fighters are jihadists or hardline Islamists, says IHS Jane's report. The Telegraph. 15 September 2013. 11 June 2016.
  8. Web site: Guide to the Syrian rebels. BBC. 13 December 2013. 11 June 2016.
  9. Web site: Syrian Islamist rebels renew chemical attack on Kurdish district in Aleppo. Ara News. 14 March 2016. 11 June 2016. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160516001625/http://aranews.net/2016/03/syrian-islamist-rebels-renew-chemical-attack-kurdish-district-aleppo/. 16 May 2016. dmy-all.
  10. Web site: Syrian rebels massacre Kurdish civilians in Aleppo. Ara News. 6 April 2016. 11 June 2016. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160609232252/http://aranews.net/2016/04/syrian-rebels-massacre-kurdish-civilians-aleppo/. 9 June 2016. dmy-all.
  11. Web site: Rebels strike Kurdish neighborhood in Aleppo with chemical gas. Al-Masdar News. 7 April 2016. 11 June 2016. 27 March 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190327130223/https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/rebels-strike-kurdish-neighborhood-aleppo-chemical-gas/. dead.
  12. Web site: About 65 casualties and injuries in shelling and launching explosive cylinders on Sheikh Maqsood neighborhood. SOHR. 16 April 2016. 11 June 2016.
  13. Web site: Russia shows support to Kurdish-led SDF north Syria. ARA News. 14 June 2016. 14 June 2016. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160614115627/http://aranews.net/2016/06/russia-shows-support-kurdish-led-sdf-north-syria/. 14 June 2016. dmy-all.
  14. Web site: Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic. https://web.archive.org/web/20170302083204/https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G17/026/63/pdf/G1702663.pdf?OpenElement. dead. 2 March 2017. United Nations. 2 February 2017. 1 March 2017.
  15. Web site: UN says Syrian rebel shelling of Kurds 'a war crime'. https://web.archive.org/web/20170303044846/http://aranews.net/2017/03/un-says-syrian-rebel-shelling-of-kurds-a-war-crime/. dead. 3 March 2017. ARA News. 2 March 2017. 2 March 2017.
  16. Web site: 2023-02-09 . Cold, fear and grief pervade Aleppo shelters as aid lags . 2023-02-10 . New Arab . en.

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