ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – A Syrian goods fair originally scheduled to open late January in Erbil has been cancelled by local authorities, following reports of human rights violations against Kurdish residents in Syria’s Aleppo.

“An exhibition of Syrian products was scheduled to open on the 26th of this month at the Erbil International Fair. We would like to inform the public that the exhibition will not be opened,” Erbil Governor Omed Khoshnaw said in a statement.

The decision comes after activists and the general public in the Kurdistan Region urged local authorities to suspend the event, in light of the recent escalations in Aleppo’s Kurdish-majority neighborhoods and reported violations against Kurdish civilians by Syrian state-aligned forces.

Footage have circulated in recent days, depicting Damascus-affiliated forces conducting mass arrests, humiliating detainees, and committing human rights abuses in Aleppo’s Kurdish quarter, sparking widespread outrage and condemnation.

The images emerged amid days-long clashes between the government-linked factions and Kurdish-led Internal Security Forces (Asayish) in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods.

After taking over a large part of the area, the government-affiliated forces were filmed desecrating corpses, insulting detained residents, and vandalizing Kurdish symbols.

The clashes resulted in hundreds of casualties, including over a hundred deaths, and led to the displacement of more than 155,000 residents.

The fair had previously drawn criticism for not including the Kurdish flag on an image of Erbil’s ancient citadel in a promotional post made by The Syrian Exhibitions and International Markets Foundation (SEIFE).

Following the backlash, the SEIFE released a new version of the poster, now featuring the Kurdish flag. Nonetheless, all announcement posts have now been deleted by the Syrian foundation.