Ziyad Halab

Halab was born in 1988 in the Syrian city of Afrin to a Kurdish family with six siblings. From a young age, he was influenced by strong Kurdish national sentiments.^[1]

Following the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War, Halab joined the People's Protection Units (YPG) in Aleppo, where he took part in the defense of the Kurdish neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafiyah between 2011 and 2015 against Ba'athist forces and various militia groups.^[1]

After the end of the civil war with the fall of the Assad regime, post-Assad internal conflicts continued. In April 2025, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafiyah enclave reached an agreement with the newly formed Syrian transitional government, and agreed to withdraw its heavy weapons from the neighborhoods.^[2] Internal security responsibilities remained with the Asayish, under Halab's command.^[3] In the months that followed, the Syrian Army led by the transitional government clashed with the SDF across northeastern Syria and also engaged Halab's Asayish forces in Aleppo during the Aleppo clashes in October and December 2025.^[4][5]

During the renewal of the Aleppo clashes in January 2026, the Syrian Army attempted to seize the Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafiyah neighborhoods. Halab played a leading role, commanding 300 Asayish fighters against around 42,000 Syrian Army troops during several days of fighting.^[6] However, after being encircled and facing superior manpower and heavy weaponry, the front lines quickly collapsed.^[4][5]

On 10 January 2026, the final day of the siege, Halab appeared in a video released by a small group of fighters stating that they would not withdraw from Sheikh Maqsood, arguing that this would be "unacceptable in the lexicon of Kurdish resistance."^[4][5] During the siege, he is said to have declared: "If I fail, I will engage in self-criticism. But I stand firm."^[7] Haroun Nimr, a fighter who was with him that day, later said that the group had been surrounded and that several members, including Halab, had been wounded. According to Nimr, in an attempt to break the encirclement and avoid capture, Halab carried out what he described as a self-sacrificing "commando operation," during which he was killed.^[5] Nimr's account coincided with a report released the same day by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which stated that Asayish fighters had carried out "fedayeen" attacks against Syrian Army positions.^[8]

The general leadership of the Asayish confirmed his death on 11 January 2026.^[9]

Due to his actions, Halab is considered a martyr by many Kurds.^[10][11] During his funeral people chanted in Kurdish "Şehîd namirin" (Martyrs are immortal).^[7]

Halab's body was received in Kobani, Syria, on 13 January 2026 by thousands of Kurds, and was laid to rest in the Martyr Dijla Shrine.^[12] At the same time, mass demonstrations took place across Rojava to commemorate his death.^[13]

In Kirkuk, Iraq, Kurdish locals put up posters of Halab commemorating his actions. Text on the posters described him as "Lion of the Kurds" and "The legend of Sheikh Maqsoud's resistance."^[14]