On Friday, 9 January 2026, a joint delegation representing the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria and the Federation of Kurds in Finland visited the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, where they met with Mr. Janne Oksanen, Head of the Syria Desk.

During the one-hour meeting, the rapidly deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in the Kurdish neighborhoods of Aleppo—particularly Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh—was discussed in detail. The delegation urged Finland and European Union member states to exert political and diplomatic pressure on the Syrian authorities to immediately halt the attacks against the Kurdish civilian population.

At the meeting, the delegation formally submitted a petition on behalf of the Kurdish community in Finland to the Finnish government. The petition calls for urgent international intervention to protect civilians and prevent further military escalation.

According to the petition, since 6 January 2026 densely populated civilian areas in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh have been subjected to large-scale military assaults by forces affiliated with the Syrian government. Heavy and indiscriminate weapons—including artillery, rocket launchers, tanks, mortars, and suicide drones—have reportedly been used directly against civilian targets. As a result, more than 80 people have been killed or injured, many of them women, children, and elderly civilians. Residential buildings, schools, and other civilian infrastructure have suffered severe damage.

In addition to the military attacks, a comprehensive siege has been imposed on these areas. Electricity has been cut off since 23 December 2025, access to fuel and heating diesel has been blocked, schools have been forced to close due to harsh winter conditions, and healthcare services and basic public utilities are operating at the brink of collapse. All access roads to the neighborhoods have been closed, except for one heavily controlled route where civilians are reportedly subjected to arbitrary inspections and financial extortion.

The petition stresses that these measures do not constitute isolated security operations, but rather form part of a systematic policy of pressure against the civilian population—one that flagrantly violates fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, including the obligation to protect civilians and the prohibition of collective punishment.

The Kurdish delegation also emphasized the role of Kurdish forces and communities in the global fight against terrorism. For more than 15 years, Kurds have been on the front lines of the struggle against international terrorism, particularly against ISIS, bearing a heavy human cost while making a decisive contribution to regional and international security—often with political or military support from the European Union and its member states.

The petition warns that abandoning these communities to bombardment, siege, and collective punishment without international intervention seriously undermines the credibility of Europe and Finland as defenders of human rights, the rule of law, and international law.

Among the key demands outlined in the petition are: the immediate cessation of military escalation and the establishment of a ceasefire in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh; the lifting of the siege and the guaranteed, unhindered access of humanitarian aid; the strengthening of international monitoring, reporting, and accountability mechanisms; and support for a genuine political solution in Syria that recognizes the rights of Kurds and all other communities and prevents the use of civilians as instruments of pressure.

Mr. Oksanen, Head of the Syria Desk at the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, assured the delegation that their concerns and demands would be conveyed to the Finnish Foreign Minister and government, and subsequently raised at the level of the European Union. He also reaffirmed Finland’s support for a peaceful, democratic, and just resolution to the Syrian conflict.

Members of the Kurdish delegation included Khelat Demir, Shêvin Nabi, Hêvîa Shwani, and Dr. Majid Hakki.

According to the delegation, silence and inaction by the international community in the face of the current situation in the Kurdish neighborhoods of Aleppo amount to tacit acceptance of grave human rights violations—an issue that extends beyond Aleppo to the credibility of international law and Europe’s moral responsibility amid ongoing war.