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Following the November 27 takeover of most of Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city, by the Turkish-backed Islamist militia group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied militias, violent clashes between them, the Bashar al Assad regime forces and Kurdish-led forces are escalating.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has of mass atrocities in northern Syria.

SOHR director Rami Abdulrahman said that some of these militias are perpetrating severe violations against Kurdish and Alawite communities in areas such as Tel Rifaat and the Aleppo (Heleb) countryside. Some Kurdish women have been captured by these militias.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) — which includes the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) — have sent their forces to create a humanitarian corridor to allow Kurds and others fleeing the fighting to cross safely into the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES)/Rojava.

The SDF issued a on December 1 that called for a general mobilisation to defend Rojava: “This week has witnessed a large-scale attack and substantial shifts have happened. Damascus government forces have deteriorated in Aleppo and other regions.

“There is no doubt that this attack is orchestrated by the Turkish occupation state, with the ultimate goal of occupying the entire Syrian territory. However, the primary target of this attack remains the areas under the Autonomous Administration to prevent the peaceful coexistence of the region’s diverse peoples, including Kurds, Arabs, Syriacs and other communities.

“The Autonomous Administration’s regions are facing a large-scale attack, with a particular focus on the areas of Al-Shahba’a and Aleppo. This constitutes a grave threat to the survival of our people … we call upon our people to join forces in the defense of their villages, cities, and the entire region. We must participate in the people’s revolutionary war and fulfill our duty to protect our homeland.

“We call upon the youth of the region, including Kurds, Arabs, Syriacs, Assyrians, Armenians, and Circassians, to fulfill their historical role by joining the resistance fronts and enlisting in the ranks of the SDF, YPG, and YPJ.”

SDF General Commander Mazlum Abdi said the priority is to protect the civilian population.

The SDF is being attacked from more than one direction, he warned, and it is forced to fight a war on multiple fronts. The Syrian military and its allies have completely collapsed, so the SDF is left with the sole responsibility of protecting the population.

“Our forces have heroically defended the people of Aleppo, Tall Rifaat and Shehba. However, the attacks by the Turkish-backed armed groups disrupted the humanitarian corridor we wanted to create between these regions and the areas in the east.”

The SDF is trying to establish communication with all active parties in Syria to ensure the safety of the population and to move them from Tall Rifaat and Shehba to safe areas in the north-east.

Meanwhile, the resistance in Kurdish neighbourhoods in Aleppo is continuing, he added.

The Peoples’ Democratic Assembly in AANES has declared an emergency situation throughout Rojava and called for:

• Support for the SDF’s general mobilisation
• Mass meetings to evaluate the political developments
• Preparations for a possible attack on North and East Syria
• The activation of emergency defence committees in all towns, cities and cantons in the region
• Emergency committees to be activated at border crossings to welcome refugees from other parts of Syria.

The Kurdistan National Congress (KNK), a multinational platform of Kurdish groups and parties, has called for urgent action to defend Rojava.

“Turkish-backed forces have launched attacks on Kurdish areas, including Shahba [Şehba] and Tel Rifaat, where many refugees from Afrin [Efrîn] are sheltering,” it said. "People in these regions are under attack and face the threat of a massacre.”

The KNK said that when the HTS and its allied militias started attacking Aleppo, “the Syrian Army retreated without resistance, allowing these groups to advance”. After just six days, “the jihadist forces had taken control of most of Aleppo, with the exception of the Kurdish neighbourhoods”.

The KNK urged Kurds and allies worldwide to mobilise: “We call on all Kurds, people of Kurdistan, and friends of the Kurds to follow this situation closely, take a stand, and defend Rojava and the AANES as they did during the Kobani resistance [against ISIS].”

Similar calls have been made by Rojava’s women’s movement , the in Rojava and the .