The offensive came amid a suffocating siege and popular protests that were met with violent repression. What began as road closures quickly turned into bloody confrontations, reviving haunting memories of past blockades and abuses that the residents of these neighborhoods have never forgotten.

 

On October 6, both neighborhoods became an open battlefield after HTS launched a broad assault. The events started on the evening of October 5, when militants blocked all entrances and exits to the area, having already erected earthen barriers on the main access routes in the preceding days.

 

As night fell, tensions escalated dramatically with drone attacks and infiltration attempts, while heavy weapons were brought into the vicinity. In response, the local civilian council called on residents to demonstrate peacefully against the siege.

 

Thousands took to the streets, approaching the barricades unarmed and chanting slogans in support of the resistance in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh, demanding the reopening of roads. The response was brutal—fighters opened fire with live ammunition and tear gas, causing mass suffocation. Around 25 people were hospitalized with injuries and breathing difficulties.

 

Later that night, HTS fighters attempted to storm the neighborhoods from four different directions using tanks and armored vehicles, firing indiscriminately toward civilians. The Internal Security Forces (Asayish) returned fire, sparking fierce clashes involving light and medium weapons. Several civilians were run over by armored vehicles, leaving two dead and dozens wounded. Mortar shells rained down on the area, damaging homes and cars.

 

Despite the crackdown, protests continued into the night. Demonstrators gathered near the checkpoints, chanting against the siege and calling for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to intervene, accusing the militants of repeating the oppressive tactics of the former Baath regime.

 

By midnight, a tense calm settled over the area after HTS units withdrew. The SDF later issued a statement blaming the Syrian Interim Government for the escalation, emphasizing that their forces had already withdrawn from the area under the April 2024 agreement, and that recent tensions stemmed from repeated provocations by factions affiliated with the government.

 

The recent assaults represent a clear violation of that April agreement, which was meant to guarantee civilian safety, local governance, and freedom of movement. Yet the renewed road closures, shootings, and gas attacks now threaten to unravel that fragile deal—rekindling the trauma of siege and isolation that Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh’s residents have endured for years.