Republican senator condemns alleged Syrian army abuses as ceasefire follows Aleppo fighting

The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee pressed the Syrian government to hold perpetrators accountable amid accusations of grave human rights violations within Syria’s army during the seizure of two Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo. Some reports claim jihadist-aligned members of the army were responsible for the abuses. 

Jim Risch, R-Idaho., wrote on Tuesday on X that "I am gravely concerned about the conduct of armed forces in Aleppo, Syria, over the past week and urge the government to hold accountable those who committed these egregious acts. After years of war, the role of Syria’s new government and armed forces is to safeguard the inherent rights of its citizens, not to infringe upon them."

Risch responded to an X Post from the Syrian Network condemning the desecration of a woman's body in Aleppo, where it was thrown from a high floor by a member of the Syrian Army.

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After days of intense clashes, Syrian army forces controlled by the former U.S. designated terrorist Ahmed al-Sharaa, who was previously a member of the terrorist movements al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, seized two neighborhoods (Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafiyeh) on Sunday in the city of Aleppo, where members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF were based.

The SDF played a critical role in aiding U.S. forces to defeat the Islamic State in Syria.

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Mazloum Abdi, the leader of the SDF, wrote on X that an agreement via international mediation had cemented the evacuation of Syrian Kurds from the two districts in Aleppo.

Abdi wrote that, "With mediation by international parties to halt the attacks and violations against our people in Aleppo, we have reached an understanding that leads to a ceasefire and ensures the evacuation of the martyrs, wounded, stranded civilians and fighters from the Ashrafiyeh and Sheikh Maqsood neighborhoods [in northern Aleppo] to North and East Syria [Rojava]," according to the Kurdish news organization Rudaw. 

The U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, who also serves as the Special Envoy for Syria, wrote on X on Saturday after the Aleppo ceasefire agreement was apparently reached, that he met with President "al-Sharaa, Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, and members of their team in Damascus to discuss recent developments in Aleppo and the broader path forward for Syria’s historic transition."

He added, "The Syrian government has reaffirmed its commitment to the March 2025 integration agreement with the SDF, which provides a framework for incorporating SDF forces into national institutions in a manner that preserves Kurdish rights and strengthens Syria’s unity and sovereignty."

Wladimir van Wilgenburg, a Kurdish studies expert, told Fox News Digital that, "Kurds suspect that Turkey is pushing Damascus to push out Kurdish forces from Aleppo to give a major blow to the SDF so that they will make more concessions to Damascus and make the Kurdish negotiation position weaker. 

"Ankara wants the SDF to integrate into the Syrian army on an individual basis, not as separate divisions," van Wilgenburg said. He added, "Moreover, the SDF wants a decentralized system, while Damascus wants a centralized system. The Kurds have decided to make a stand in Aleppo. The current situation could spark a widespread conflict that could undermine Trump’s policy of creating sustainable peace in the Middle East."

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The Aleppo health directorate said at least 24 civilians were killed and more than 120 people were injured during five days of clashes.

The government of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan views the Syrian Kurds as a threat to Turkey because many Kurdish organizations across the region seek an independent state that would include a part of Turkey, where there is a large Kurdish population. Erdogan has over the years launched devastating attacks on the Kurds in northern Syrian.

Retired four-star Army general Jack Keane previously told Fox News' Mark Levin on "Life, Liberty & Levin" that President Trump during his first term was able to stop Erdogan’s attacks on the Syrian Kurds. 

The General Command of the SDF issued a statement last week, stating "We warn that the continuation of this aggression against civilians will lead to serious repercussions that will not be limited to Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh or to the city of Aleppo alone, but will risk plunging all of Syria back into an open battlefield. Full responsibility for this will rest with those who persist in choosing the use of force against civilians."

Al-Sharaa‘s rule over the past year has seen radical Islamist forces aligned with his army engage in massacres of a range of Syrian minority groups, from Alawites to the Druze. Radical Islamists have also murdered Syrian Christians.

Sinam Mohamad, the representative of the Syrian Democratic Council to the U.S., told Fox News Digital that a "decentralized system will save Syria from any or conflict in the future." She said "We regret foreign influence" in Syria, noting that "Turkey still has influence on Damascus." She said that Turkey seeks to "provoke" in Syria, citing the recent attacks in Aleppo.

Mohammad said the Syrian Kurds have a "negotiating committee to discuss the autonomous government in northeastern Syria. We also have women units in the SDF who have been fighting against ISIS." She asked what is the "future of women in the army" in Syria?  "Damascus does not want women units in the army. In Israel, they have women in the army."

She said this part of the negotiations with al-Sharaa’s government with respect to the March 2025 agreement reached between the SDF and the Syrian regime.

Van Wilgenburg said, "The clashes began after the latest negotiations between the Kurds and Damascus over the implementation of the March 10 agreement did not produce any results. Damascus earlier verbally agreed on three SDF divisions, but there were remaining discussions and different view points over command and control. The last meeting took place on Jan. 4 in Damascus."

According to the SDF, "the neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh have been under complete siege by factions of the Damascus government for more than six months. These neighborhoods do not, under any circumstances, constitute a military threat, nor can they serve as a launching point for any attack on the city of Aleppo."

The statement added that, "The allegations promoted by bloodthirsty circles within Damascus-affiliated factions, claiming the existence of intent or military movement by our forces from these neighborhoods, are false and fabricated. They are used as a pretext to justify the siege, shelling and massacres committed against civilians."

Fox News Digital reached out numerous times to the spokesperson for Turkey’s embassy in Washington D.C. as well as the U.S. State Department.