ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Global attention should focus on the killing and displacement of Kurds from Aleppo’s Kurdish-majority neighborhoods of Ashrafiyeh and Sheikh Maqsood, German boxer of Kurdish descent Agit Kabayel told Rudaw, particularly after the areas were seized by Damascus forces and their allied factions with jihadist backgrounds.
Kabayel, 33, made headlines on Saturday after successfully retaining his World Boxing Council (WBC) interim heavyweight title by defeating Polish challenger Damian Knyba in Oberhausen, in western Germany. He remains undefeated in his professional career, with 27 wins, including 19 by knockout.
Seizing the opportunity to raise awareness during a press conference on Saturday, he told Rudaw that he had been closely following the deadly violence in Aleppo’s Kurdish neighborhoods.
“We must all stand together. This is not just about being of Kurdish descent - it is about our shared humanity. We need to unite and draw attention to the fact that innocent people are being killed,” he said in Oberhausen.
Deadly clashes erupted on Tuesday in Aleppo’s Kurdish neighborhoods between Syrian government forces and allied jihadist factions on one side, and Kurdish Internal Security Forces (Asayish) on the other.
“We cannot close our eyes to what is happening there. We must pay attention and raise awareness,” Kabayel added, warning that “innocent people are being driven out of their homes.”
At least 82 people were killed, including 43 civilians, 38 government-aligned militants, and at least one Asayish member, according to a Sunday report by the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
An estimated 150,000 residents have fled Aleppo’s Kurdish-majority neighborhoods, the Erbil-based Barzani Charity Foundation (BCF) told Rudaw on Saturday, raising fears of ethnic cleansing. More than 90 percent were relocated 60 kilometers north to Afrin, which is home to many Kurdish residents who were previously expelled to Aleppo by Turkish-backed militias in 2018.
“I have a special message, I said it before: Freedom for Rojava. This is for everyone who is aware,” Kabayel added.
Speaking about his victory, he said, “These are my roots, my Kurdish origin is a tremendous support that I receive from Kurdistan.”
Kabayel said that of the roughly 13,000 spectators at the fight, he estimated about 9,000 were Kurdish.
“I am happy with this support, I am happy to represent Kurdistan,” he said, adding that he holds Kurdish and non-Kurdish “peoples in my heart.”
Commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the de facto army of Rojava, affiliated with the Asayish, announced early Sunday that an internationally mediated ceasefire had been reached.
In a statement on X, Mazloum Abdi said the agreement ensures a ceasefire and “the evacuation of the martyrs, wounded, civilians, and fighters” from Ashrafiyeh and Sheikh Maqsood to northeast Syria (Rojava).
For its part, Rojava’s Kurdish-led administration on Sunday condemned the seizure of Aleppo’s Kurdish-majority neighborhoods by Damascus and its allied forces, calling it “an act of treachery” and citing the involvement of Islamic State (ISIS) fighters. It further warned that any authority relying on “another state against its own people loses its legitimacy.”
Mey Dost contributed to this report from Oberhausen, Germany.
