On October 6, Syrian government forces shelled majority-Christian and Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city. csi
By CSI’s consultant for Middle East Projects
The night of October 6, 2025, will remain etched in the memory of Aleppo’s residents as one of sudden terror. Around 9:30 p.m., violent explosions broke out without warning – bombardments and gunfire filled the air, plunging the city once again into the nightmare of war. Forces loyal to Syria’s new government, led by former al Qaeda commander Ahmed al-Sharaa, were shelling Christian and Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo. Syria’s largest city was forced to relive the anguish of its darkest years.
A night of fear and chaos
In neighborhoods such as al-Suryan al-Jadid, Jalaa, Ashrafiyya, and Sheikh Maqsoud, panic spread rapidly. Families fled their homes, terrified by the sound of explosions and the flashes lighting up the sky. Civilians screamed in fear as shells fell randomly across entire areas. These districts are largely residential – home to ordinary people, not military bases – making the government attack even more incomprehensible.
CSI’s partners believe the assault was meant to pressure the Kurdish leadership in Syria into fully respecting the agreement signed in March 2025 between Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
Since 2012, northeast Syria has been largely under the control of local Kurdish groups, organized today as the Autonomous Administration of Northeast Syria. The agreement called for the integration of the AANES’ civil and military institutions into the national structures, but tensions on the ground appear far from resolved.
Civilians in flight
A house located in Ashrafiyya – where I had stayed only two weeks earlier – was also caught in the crossfire. Out of fear, the people who live there were forced to evacuate and take shelter with the church.
In the neighborhoods of al-Suryan al-Jadid and Jalaa, where nearly 80% of the population is Christian, roads were immediately sealed off. Residents were allowed to leave but were prevented from returning to their homes upon orders from government forces. Many families chose to move temporarily to other parts of Aleppo, renting small apartments or staying with relatives who welcomed them, to wait out the uncertainty.
The city at a standstill
On Tuesday, October 7, despite a fragile ceasefire being announced, Aleppo remained paralyzed. Schools, offices, and most businesses were closed. Even CSI’s partner organizations suspended their operations, except for a few staff members who ventured out to purchase food, drinking water, and basic medicines for the most vulnerable families trapped in the targeted districts.
Humanitarian access was extremely limited – only women were permitted to enter the blocked areas on foot to deliver food supplies to Christian households who had been unable to leave.
By October 10, movement gradually resumed, and authorities began allowing residents to re-enter their neighborhoods. Streets that had been deserted for days cautiously filled with people again, even as fear lingered in the air.
The psychological toll
The psychological impact of that night has been devastating. Many residents describe it as a “relapse into nightmare.” The bombings reawakened memories of the fourteen years of the Syrian civil war, leaving the population deeply shaken. Children born after 2018 (when major fighting in Aleppo ended) had never known conflict and suffered severe trauma. Schools across the city remained closed for at least two days, even in districts untouched by the fighting; only on October 9 did some reopen, cautiously returning to normality.
Although the ceasefire that same night prevented an escalation, the atmosphere in Aleppo remains tense and uncertain. Mutual suspicion persists between the Kurdish forces and the Syrian government, leaving civilians once again suspended between fragile peace and the fear of renewed violence.
