#Update | Nearly 20 Cars Belonging to Displaced Kurdish Families Smashed and Burned in Tal Abyad Amid "Allahu Akbar" Chants, Under the Watch of HTS-led General Security Militias #Raqqa Countryside | Tal Abyad City (Girê Spî): Individuals among the displaced mobs occupying Kurdish homes in the city of Tal Abyad smashed and set fire to roughly 20 cars belonging to displaced Kurds, pelting them with stones and sticks, amid gunfire and chants of "Allahu Akbar," all under the watch of the #HTS-led General Security militias. According to sources, the assault took place as dozens of displaced Kurds arrived at the Tal Abyad district administration building to submit documents proving ownership of their land and properties in the city and its countryside, in preparation for reclaiming them, amid threats against some of the returnees and an almost complete absence of any security intervention to stop the attacks. Kurdish channel Rudaw reported that dozens of Kurds remain trapped inside one of the buildings, with no confirmed information about their situation available so far.

🚨#NothernSyria | #Raqqa:Displaced Kurdish families attacked while trying to return to their homes in Tal Abyad (Gire Spi) On Monday, 26 October 2026, displaced Kurdish families were attacked by large crowds in the city of Tal Abyad (Girê Spî) , northern Raqqa countryside, as they tried to return to their homes and villages after years of displacement. Their cars were smashed and some were set on fire, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and circulating video footage. According to a private source cited by Rudaw, around 100 Kurdish returnees, including women and children, are besieged inside the Area Administration building in Tal Abyad, and their fate remains unknown. This coincided with a gathering in front of the Tal Abyad area command rejecting what protesters described as the return of members of the dissolved SDF to the city. It is worth noting that thousands of Kurdish families were displaced from Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain following the 2019 Turkish military operation, and many still face obstacles to returning and recovering their property.

Syrian Alawite Man Assassinated in Beirut After Monthslong Online Incitement Campaign Over His Past Military Service The young Syrian man Ali Alawi Aaqel, 36, from the Alawite community, was assassinated in the Hadath area of #Beirut while inside his car, and his body arrived at Baabda Government Hospital. The details of his assassination remain unknown at this time. Ali had been active on social media before he stopped posting around two years ago. The young man was killed following a month-long incitement campaign led by a number of pro-Jolani social media influencers and media figures. The campaign was triggered by the fact that the young man had served mandatory military service in the Syrian army before the fall of the former regime, and was known for his social media activity even during his service. Jolanists continue to circulate photos of the young man in military uniform to justify his assassination, despite there being no evidence that he committed any war crime, he was simply fulfilling mandatory military service as required by Syrian law, which applied to more than a million young men during the Syrian war, from all sects. Unlike those who incited his killing, his own rhetoric during the Syrian war consistently rejected sectarian strife, called for reconciliation between sects, condemned anyone who insulted another sect, and affirmed that their fight was against the “black-banners” group (ISIS), as he used to describe them. Regardless of the young man's political stance, jolanists forget that members of the former Syrian army fought in battles against the terrorist organizations ISIS and al-Qaeda, battles in which members of the international coalition, including American, European, and even Russian soldiers, also participated. It has become shameless to justify killing soldiers who were serving mandatory duty simply for having done so, without any proof they committed war crimes against civilians. By this logic, jolanists would be prepared to kill coalition soldiers for having fought against ISIS and al-Qaeda, after Qatar and Gulf states bribed enough money to legitimize the takeover of the Syrian state by al-Qaeda and ISIS remnants, without any elections or consultation of the Syrian people, and to help them build an Islamic dictatorship more brutal than the one before it. Ali Alawi Aaqel (Ali Shaheen) was originally from the Ghab Plain and resided in Latakia city. He was the son of folk artist who died during Ali's childhood. Ali Aaqel had completed his military service before the fall of the regime and returned to civilian life. After the incitement campaign targeted him, he wrote that he had been summoned and called in for questioning several times by the STG regime's military intelligence, with no evidence or case against him (even his social media rhetoric consistently rejected sectarian strife and called for the protection of civilians, even during military operations in their areas). The young man was forced to travel to Lebanon following the incitement campaign. A source close to Ali Aaqel told us he had been receiving death threats and was heading to Lebanon to protect himself, he traveled there during the current month of October, only to be assassinated in Beirut. It’s worth noting that assassinations and kidnappings targeting Syrian Alawites in Lebanese territory have been on the rise, with many of them reportedly carried out by staff of the Syrian embassy in Beirut, who are al-Qaeda remnants appointed by alJolani.

#WesternSyria: Salafist Poster Campaign in #Latakia Streets Calls for Boycotting Music, Calling It "the Devil's Flute" An extremist Salafist group calling itself "Ahl al-Tawhid" (People of Monotheism) has put up posters in several neighborhoods of Latakia city (an Alawite majority city) calling for a boycott of music, under the title "Music and Instruments Are the Devil's Flute." The posters include Quranic verses and hadiths declaring singing and musical instruments forbidden, according to photos and a video clip circulated today, Sunday, October 25, 2026. The clip shows a number of bearded men putting up the flyers on walls and shop fronts across the city.

#SouthernSyria : Daraa Municipality Employee Found Shot Dead in Western Daraa Countryside The body of “Yassin Salem al-Hashish” from the Sunni community was found shot three times, at the junction of al-Ajami village in the western Daraa countryside, this morning, Sunday, October 25, 2026, according to local sources. Yassin Salem al-Hashish was originally from the village of Zaizoun in the western Daraa countryside and worked as an employee at Daraa Municipality.

Amendments to New Syrian School Curricula Include Veiling Girls, Dressing Statues, and Removing All References to Democracy After statues were hidden from public places in #Aleppo and #Damascus under flimsy pretexts, the #STG moved on to images of archaeological statues in school textbooks, dressing them in clothing despite them being statues of men. Young girls have not escaped the grip of the regime's rigid, afflicted mindset either, with the hijab forced upon them. This ideological interference has also extended to topics on democratic participation, as well as lessons on political life, citizenship, and media, which have been removed or altered to serve the agenda of "Islamic dictatorship" It is worth noting that the attached images are from the social studies textbook for sixth grade, for 12-year-olds, after it was altered by STG this year.

#WesternSyria: Contact Lost with Young Alawite Man in #Tartus, Fears of Kidnapping Contact has been lost with young "Miqdad Basel al-Hassan," 26, since he left the National Hospital in Tartus city on Sunday, October 18, 2026. His family has been unable to obtain any information about his whereabouts or fate. The young man is from the village of Amouda in the #Safita countryside, and belongs to the Alawite community.

#WesternSyria | #Latakia: Founder of Al-Wehda Newspaper Still Detained on Trumped-Up Charges Journalist Haitham Sultani, 70, founder of Al-Wehda newspaper and a member of the Alawite community, has been detained for several days on a charge of "insulting the divine essence"= cursing Allah (blasphemy). His family says the charge was fabricated against him because an influential contractor wanted to force him off his property. Sultani, who also previously served on the Latakia governorate council, was first beaten badly by a group of men sent by an influential figure trying to pressure him into giving up his property. When that attempt at intimidation failed, they turned to fabricating the blasphemy charge instead, and the #HTS-led General Security militias arrested him on that basis, pointing to clear collusion between security forces and whoever is after his property. Since the fall of the former regime, "insulting the divine essence" has become a common pretext for arrest, and in several cases has even been used to justify killing people, most recently Ali Qarmeh, a young Sunni man killed in Hama days ago. This charge wasn't in use before the regime fell, when "undermining national sentiment" was the go-to justification for arrests. Now it's been replaced by accusations of blasphemy!!

#WesternSyria | #Latakia: Turkish naval officers inspect locations on the Coast. In a provocative move, STG has announced that a group of Turkish naval officers have visited Syria based on an invitation by STG's MoD. During their visit, the Turkish officers inspected a number of locations in Latakia and Tartous. The declared intention of the visit is to discuss naval cooperation opportunities and prospects of rebuilding the new Syria's navy. However, these visits are seen a provocation by the Alawite and Christian communities in Western Syria, which perceive the presence of Turkish military in their historic homeland as a force of occupation and a bad omen of what's to come. The predominantly Alawite region suffered greatly under Turkish Ottoman occupation of the region that lasted for centuries. During its occupation the Ottomans committed unspeakable atrocities and massacred the native ethno-religious of Western Syria, forced them to live under an inhumane rule where they're considered as infidels and subjects without rights, and settled non-native Sunni Muslim groups on the coast to act as buffer and permanent garrisons to crush any native rebellion. The consequences of Ottoman occupation are still felt in the Coast to this day, where aspects of the Ottoman policies are seen in the policies of current authorities and its militias, to the point where they demand a complete ethnic and religious re-engineering of the whole region to crush the native communities, i.e Alawites and Christians. This also threatens to turn the coast into an open battlefield for geopolitical and regional struggles, which seem to be on the verge of exploding in the next months/years. Struggles which the people of Western Syria have nothing to do with or wish to be part of.

#SouthernSyria | #RuralDamascus: Outrage in Rankos following HTS-led General Security attack on a local militia. On October 22 morning, HTS-led General Security forces launched an operation targeting a local militia in the town of Rankos, in North Western Damascus. The operation devolved into an intense firefight that led to 5 deaths in the local militia, in addition to a number of wounded and arrested militiamen. Meanwhile, MoI statement revealed that the operation caused 2 dead and 5 wounded in its forces. The statement caused outrage in the town, as it claimed that the operation targeted an ISIS cell in the town, a claim denied by the people of Rankos, who in many posts on social media explaining that the attack came as a result of disagreement between the local militia, which had already integrated with STG armed forces, and STG authorities but in order not to be seen as infighting between government forces the MoI framed the incident as an anti-ISIS raid. This morning the people of Rankos surrounded the Rankos Police precinct protesting the raid and STG's handling of the situation, demanding release of their detained townsmen. Some reports also suggest they're demanding STG release the bodies of the dead militiamen which it has kept since the raid blackmailing the town for silence, telling them unless they guarantee the bodies will be buried in silence without problems the bodies will not be released.

#Syria | STG claims of Syria prosperity, normalization, and progress disintegrate when faced with reality. Since the fall of Assad regime in Syria, the new authority has made a habit of stating bold and bogus claims when describing progress in Syria. They insist the war torn country has regained its image before the world and made huge strides towards normalization and building confidence but when examined closely these claims clash with the reality in Syria, because state officials making trips around the world and meeting Trump and world leaders doesn't mean legitimacy, doesn't build confidence in a country with a painful history, and doesn't help ordinary Syrians suffering lack of basic needs on daily basis. In the past few weeks reports on Syria have shed light on the harsh reality Syrians face in contrast to what the transitional authorities and its legions of paid influencers insist on projecting to the world. These include: - Hunger: Global Index Hunger has given Syria a score of 31.5 in 2026, which means Syria now is at Serious Hunger levels rising 3.5 points since 2018. A quick look into the video surveys coming out of Syria confirms this with almost every person interviewed insists they're struggling making ends meet and can barely afford food and basic needs. - Gender Equality: STG's recent decision to bar women from defence, security and certain other institutions in college admission has caused an outrage amongst Syrian and has gained attention in world media. Human Rights Watch has released a statement on the issue saying that this and other measures taken by STG violate Syria's obligations, restricts women's role in the country and damages gender equality. - International Recognition: The Syrian passport has plunged to one of its worst ranks in history, ranking dead last among Arab countries passports, falling behind the passports of even Yemen and Iraq. Meanwhile on global level it ranks among the worst in the world, just over Afghanistan's. These are not signs of prosperity, progress and healing. It's becoming more clear that Syria remains a country deep in crisis, while the transitional government continues to live on media circuses that promote false image of the country. However, even this well polished and heavily paid for image has eroded substantially, as signs of dissidence and rage can clearly be seen even in STG's most loyal communities in Syria because promises can't fill empty stomachs and won't calm a crying child.

#CentralSyria: Young Man Killed by Extremists in #Hama City "Ali Qarmeh," from the Sunni community, was killed after being shot by gunmen riding a motorcycle, at the start of the Masyaf Road neighborhood, behind the tobacco factory in Hama city, yesterday evening, October 20, 2026. Local sources and social media pages reported that the gunmen belonged to Salafi-jihadist preaching groups in the city, and that the killing was over an accusation of blasphemy.

#WesternSyria | W #Hama: Christian Gold Merchant Kidnapped in #Suqaylabiyah Goldsmith "Maher Nawras Sankari" was kidnapped from in front of his home in the city of Suqaylabiyah this morning, October 19, 2026, by a group of masked individuals riding in a Hyundai Avante. CCTV footage showed the individuals ramming the goldsmith with the car before getting out and taking him to an unknown location. This kidnapping comes after repeated attacks on Christians in the city of Suqaylabiyah from the neighboring town of Qalaat al-Madiq, in addition to an armed robbery last week targeting a gold shop belonging to a Christian man, Bassam Yabroudi, in the Christian-majority Bab Touma area of the capital, Damascus. xitter.cf/syjusticearc/status/21…

#SouthernSyria: Kurdish Man Kidnapped in #Suwayda Countryside, Kidnappers Demand Large Ransom Citizen Abdulaziz Amin al-Othman, 51, was kidnapped on the afternoon of Friday, October 16, 2026, in the northern Suwayda countryside, on the road linking the towns of Atil and Selim village, according to circulating reports. According to sources, the kidnappers are demanding a ransom of $100,000 in exchange for his release. The family of Mr. Amin al-Othman filed an official report with the Internal Security Directorate affiliated with Suwayda. It is worth noting that Abdulaziz al-Othman is originally from #Kobani and has resided in Suwayda for around 30 years, working in well drilling. Details of his kidnapping and the location where he is being held remain unknown.

#Syria:The Path to Converting the Syrian Judiciary into a Sharia Judiciary Following the recent judges' examination, which accepted 200 judges exclusively from the Sunni community , the vast majority of them graduates of #Idlib, the #STG issued a decision covering students of the notorious "Idlib University." Under this decision, students of the Faculty of Sharia/ Faculty of Law, led by the Salfist "Anas Airout", are each granted two degrees! This is despite Syrian law stipulating that the two faculties are separate and distinct branches. Just days ago, #SANA news agency reported on a meeting at the Ministry of Justice, under the authority of the terrorist Mazhar al-Wais, launching an initiative called "Elite Future Judges," described as aiming to recruit students from the Faculty of Law and Sharia. We note again: Sharia students in Syria do not study law, and Syrian law does not permit them to work as judges.... But is this a coincidence? No. Looking back to 2025, Decision No. 89, dated January 29, appointed fourteen graduates of Islamic Sharia faculties to positions of "heads of judiciary" (referred to as "sheikh") in the provinces, positions that do not exist in any legal text. These "sheikhs" replaced the position of public prosecutor, and 51 judges (who held law degrees) were dismissed, justified only by the phrase "based on the requirements of the public interest," without any legal justification. The appointment of Sharia faculty graduates (including the Minister of Justice himself) to judicial positions was not limited to heads of judiciary. "Anas Mansour al-Suleiman" was appointed head of the Court of Cassation (the highest judicial authority in Syria) without holding a law degree, in clear violation of the Judicial Authority Law, which requires legal qualifications and seniority. "Ibrahim Shasho" was also appointed head of the Judicial Inspection Department despite not holding a law degree, relying instead solely on his degree in Islamic Sharia. So is the STG, under the terrorist Mazhar al-Wais, racing against time to gradually convert Syria's judiciary into a Sharia judiciary, taking regressive steps backward, ultimately ending in rule by "Islamic Sharia" law?

#SouthernSyria | #Damascus: CCTV footage showed a gunman shooting a man inside his car in front of his son, in the #Sahnaya area near the capital, Damascus, yesterday, October 17, 2026. More details about the incident and the victim's name will follow if they become available.

#CentralSyria | #Homs: Alawite Man Killed in Homs City Yesterday Evening Mr. Emad Suleiman was killed after being shot by gunmen in a car, while he was working selling fuel in front of his home in the #alWaleed Suburb area of Homs. Local sources reported that the gunmen approached him in their car claiming they wanted to buy fuel, then opened fire on him directly, yesterday evening, October 17, 2026. Mr. Emad Suleiman was originally from the village of Jourat al-Jawamees in the #Draykish countryside of #Tartus governorate, and belonged to the Alawite community.

#SouthernSyria | #Damscus: Armed Robbery of a Christian-Owned Gold Shop in the Heart of Damascus Goldsmith Bassam Yabroudi, in the Sufl al-Tilla area of Bab Touma, was the victim of an armed robbery yesterday morning, October 17, 2026, when five armed individuals stormed the shop he owns. According to details of the incident, the five gunmen entered the workshop and brandished their weapons at the goldsmith, demanding he hand over the gold inside the shop. Members of the gang confronted neighbors with weapons, threatening them to prevent them from approaching or intervening, before seizing the gold in the workshop. As they fled the scene, the gunmen threw a grenade to cover their escape and create confusion among those present, sparking fear and panic in the area. It is worth noting that HTS-led General Security militias are present throughout the area, close to where the armed robbery took place, yet they did not intervene at all, allowing the gunmen to leave freely, raising suspicion among local residents that the gunmen may belong to the security forces themselves.

#SouthernSyria | #Damascus: Gunmen Kidnap Kurdish Young Girl in Damascus, Loot Family's Home, Realsed Her Just After a Kurdish Channel Aired the Incident In collusion with the #HTS-led General Security militias, gunmen kidnapped a Kurdish girl from her home, and she was not released until a day after Rudaw channel aired the incident, with no accountability for the gang and no return of the stolen money and gold. Details: gunmen from Deir ez-Zor, who are neighbors of the Kurdish family, knocked on the door claiming to be from the #HTS-led General Security militias. When the wife opened the door, they entered the house, stole everything, then kidnapped a girl with special needs who was also a university student, and left the scene. The Kurdish family filed a complaint with the General Security militias, but instead of following up on the case, they arrested the Kurdish family, while the gang members from Deir ez-Zor who broke into the home, stole from it, and kidnapped the girl are well known and walk freely in the street in front of the Kurdish family's home, with no fear or regard for the concept of "authority" or the security forces! The girl and her family were not released until a day after the Kurdish Rudaw channel aired the incident in the video below, with no accountability for the kidnappers and no return of the stolen property.

U.S. Congressman @RepMackenzie introduces a bill to protect religious and ethnic minorities in Syria.