Full Analysis Summary
Civilian protection in northeast Syria
Human Rights Watch urged Syria's transitional government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces to protect civilians and comply with international humanitarian law amid renewed fighting in northeast Syria.
HRW warned that blocking humanitarian aid or weaponizing essentials such as water and electricity could amount to war crimes.
The organization emphasized that territorial gains must not come at the expense of civilian rights and cautioned against arbitrary detention and mistreatment of detainees.
Reporting frames the situation as one in which civilians are suffering acute harm from tactics that disproportionately affect noncombatants.
Clashes and ceasefires timeline
Clashes began on Jan. 6 in Aleppo's predominantly Kurdish Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods.
Fighting expanded on Jan. 17 when transitional authorities seized Raqqa and Deir Ezzor and pushed toward parts of al-Hasakah.
Both sides reportedly agreed to halt hostilities on Jan. 18, followed by a reported four-day ceasefire on Jan. 20.
Observers and reports note repeated violations of those ceasefires, and the UN warned that repeated breakdowns are destabilizing the country.
Documentation of civilian harm
HRW documented credible reports of direct and indirect harm to civilians, including sniper fire and shelling along designated escape routes, prolonged electricity and water outages in Aleppo and al-Hasakah, and online videos showing arrests of Kurdish residents that HRW could not verify affiliations for.
HRW reiterated that arbitrary detention is prohibited, that detainees must be treated humanely and allowed family contact, and emphasized legal protections even amid armed confrontation.
Post-Assad transition clashes
The reporting situates the violence within a fragile political transition after Bashar al-Assad’s fall in December 2024.
Transitional leader Ahmad al-Sharaa is seeking to consolidate armed groups into a single national army while the SDF opposes centralization and favors local autonomy.
Both sources note that before this escalation the SDF controlled roughly 30% of Syria and had cooperated with US forces against ISIS.
This highlights how competing security visions and the ongoing transition are linked to renewed clashes.
Reporting gaps and attribution limits
Gaps and limitations in available reporting are notable: both items are based on HRW's analysis and observers' reports and do not include statements from the transitional government or the SDF in the provided extracts.
This absence of official statements limits the ability to attribute responsibility for specific violations, and both sources caution that some visual evidence, including online videos of arrests, could not have affiliations independently verified.
Readers should therefore treat attribution as unresolved in these excerpts.