The Missing Persons’ Families Platform in North and East Syria (MPFP-NES) is closely monitoring the situation in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods of Aleppo, following an increasing number of reports from residents regarding the arbitrary arrest of civilians. These arrests occurred after Syrian Transitional Government forces took control of the two neighborhoods, following several days of clashes with the Internal Security Forces (Asayish). In parallel, cases of missing persons have been documented in connection with the military operations.
The MPFP-NES has received alarming accounts from families of detainees and missing persons, who report deep anxiety over the fate of their sons and daughters and fear that they may have been subjected to enforced disappearance. These concerns are exacerbated by the complete absence of any information regarding the detainees’ whereabouts, the authorities responsible for their detention, or the legal grounds for the arrests. No official statements have been issued to clarify these matters.
Arrests carried out without official acknowledgment, combined with the denial of families’ right to information or communication with detained relatives, create a serious risk of enforced disappearance or incommunicado detention. Such practices amount to grave violations of International Human Rights (IHR) law, infringing upon the right to liberty and personal security and causing severe humanitarian and psychological harm to families and the broader community.
The Platform has received multiple reports of individuals whose fate has remained unknown since the onset of the military escalation in the two neighborhoods. These cases include persons who disappeared during military operations as well as others who went missing amid civilian displacement. This situation continues in the absence of official information or effective and transparent mechanisms to search for the missing and clarify their fate.
The MPFP-NES stresses that any deprivation of liberty must be conducted in accordance with clear, public, and lawful procedures and must be accompanied by fundamental, non-derogable safeguards. These include the immediate notification of families of the reasons for arrest and the place of detention, the right of detainees to communicate without delay with their families and legal counsel, and independent judicial oversight of arrest and detention procedures.
The Platform further emphasizes that denying a person’s detention or concealing their whereabouts constitutes the crime of enforced disappearance, which is strictly prohibited under IHR law. Enforced disappearance is a continuing violation that is not subject to statutes of limitation and requires full legal accountability.
- Accordingly, the Missing Persons’ Families Platform in North and East Syria (MPFP-NES) calls for the following:
An immediate cessation to arbitrary arrests and guarantees that civilians are not targeted on the basis of identity, place of residence, or unsubstantiated suspicion. - The immediate and full disclosure of the names of all detainees and their places of detention.
- The prompt enabling of detainees to communicate with their families and legal counsel.
- Unrestricted access for independent and impartial bodies to all places of detention to verify the physical and legal well-being of detainees.
- Clarification of the fate of all persons who went missing during military operations or in the context of displacement.
The right of families to know the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones is a fundamental and inalienable both legal and human right. The authorities exercising effective control on the ground bear full legal responsibility for the safety and well-being of detainees and missing persons and for providing accurate and timely information regarding their fate and whereabouts.