Mustafa Bakour, the Damascus-appointed Governor of Suwayda, seeks to justify holding Druze victims of kidnapping in Adra Prison as “precautionary detention” to avoid further violence. bsky.app/profile/rami...

This is not what Lavrov said in the TGRT Haber interview that Al Arabiya is citing. When asked about Russia’s position on legal action against Assad, who is residing in Moscow, Lavrov said: "This issue has not been on the agenda for a long time. Our partners know very well how everything is" 1/4

This is not what Lavrov said in the TGRT Haber interview that Al Arabiya is citing. When asked about Russia’s position on legal action against Assad, who is residing in Moscow, Lavrov said: "This issue has not been on the agenda for a long time. Our partners know very well how everything is" 1/4

Muhammad Baraa Shakri has been appointed Acting Ambassador at the Syrian Embassy in Berlin. It should, of course, come as no surprise that his father is the current Minister of Endowment. 1/2

Call it much-needed diplomacy or pragmatism or whatever, but while Sharaa praises the “bravery” of the Russian army in Moscow, Syrians will remember very well the horrors Putin's killing machine wreaked on our people: bombs, mass graves, and homes reduced to dust. 1/3

Mustafa Bakour, the so-called “governor of Suwayda” the appointee Sharaa’s bootlickers are praising, makes a stark admission that the state took Druze civilians kidnapped by Bedouin tribes, instead of freeing them, locked them up to use as leverage for Bedouins kidnapped by Druze militias. 1/8

It is, of course, the Syrian state that bears full responsibility, because it is the state that must grant access to independent media and journalists, and not just to those who see themselves as guardians of the state. 8/9

🧵" I'm not ISIS" The man in this video is a former ISIS member trying to deceive his way out of prison (Al-Hol Camp Northern Syria). Both videos in this thread make that abundantly clear: 1/9

🧵" I'm not ISIS" The man in this video is a former ISIS member trying to deceive his way out of prison (Al-Hol Camp Northern Syria). Both videos in this thread make that abundantly clear: 1/9

The images of children emerging from prison are a stain on the SDF and on anyone attempting to downplay them, they constitute a profound moral & institutional failure. Imprisoning adults unlawfully is a crime of the highest magnitude, mind you a child who cannot legally bear criminal responsibility.

The images of children emerging from prison are a stain on the SDF and on anyone attempting to downplay them, they constitute a profound moral & institutional failure. Imprisoning adults unlawfully is a crime of the highest magnitude, mind you a child who cannot legally bear criminal responsibility.

"Even if it means turning Qamishlo or Hasakah into Gaza" These are the sort of sick people we need as far away from Syria as possible, those who bear no real connection to Syria beyond a shared religious identity and are comfortable advocating the destruction of our towns and communities.

🧵What appears to be 21 civilians, some with their hands tied behind their backs, suggesting they've been executed, have appeared in two separate videos that seem to have been filmed last night and today. Both videos are clearly of the same incident, as the victims’ clothing matches. 1/4

🧵The situation in Al-Hol camp is inhumane. Children growing up in conditions that cause lasting developmental harm. I know it's a complex issue, but by the time the adults are deemed rehabilitated the children will have spent their early years in the camp and suffered irreversible damage. 1/5

🧵The reality is that a Sunni Arab affiliated with the SDF can be apprehended by the Syrian army, claim to have been coerced into joining, and walk away without charge. A Kurd on the other hand is more likely to undergo a traumatic experience, potentially a moment that could be their last. 1/5

You can reject the conflation of the SDF with the Kurds and still recognize that the hybrid, identity-based conflict now unfolding risks inflicting much deeper, long-term scars on Arab–Kurdish cohesion in Syria. The hatred this conflict is spewing, both on and off the battlefield, is alarming.

"I spoke to my contacts on the ground in Syria and they are saying....." In critical moments like this, claims on social media about what unnamed “contacts on the ground” think or feel often reflect more about the commentator's own views than the Syrians they claim to be relaying.

🧵There are no angels among Syria’s armed factions, whether the SDF or the armed groups that've been rebranded under the MoD, including HTS, Turkish backed forces and many others. I do not defend, excuse, or align myself with any. My commentary is solely in defense of Syrian citizen rights. 1/5

Regardless of who's to blame for the current mess, on display right now are an alarming number of Syrian Arabs who mask their racism with empty one-liners such as “the Kurds are our people,” while being Sunni-Arab chauvinists in every other way that counts. Such people do not see Kurds as equals.

When it comes to an individuals freedom of conscience, there is no meaningful difference between being forced to say “There is no god but Allah” and “Bashar is your god.” In both cases, the enforcer is an absolutist in their own beliefs and justifies imposing it on those under their control.

Al-Sharaa isn’t uniting Syria. He's catering to his patrons in Ankara & to mentally deranged Syrians who seek dominance over others, turning communities against each other in exchange for personal power. The price: the systematic destruction of any prospect of rebuilding Syria’s social fabric. 1/2

Even now, in the middle of the night in a small apartment in Milan, he (my father) wakes screaming, staring into the darkness—searching for the light of a saviour and for an official apology that will likely never come. By Shady Hamadi www.newarab.com/opinion/syri...

Even now, in the middle of the night in a small apartment in Milan, he (my father) wakes screaming, staring into the darkness—searching for the light of a saviour and for an official apology that will likely never come. By Shady Hamadi www.newarab.com/opinion/syri...

“All children’s lives have equal value,” we say, with confidence. But having for years witnessed my people buried under the weight of global silence, let’s face it: That sentence only applies if the children are the right color, from the right wars, dying in ways the news can romanticize. 1/5

The Assad regime will only have truly fallen when those in power take decisive steps to crush the Assadist tendencies many Syrians have adopted through decades of ruthless rule. 1/3

Anyone who claims that dozens of Bedouin women and children were slaughtered should present a shred of evidence, which they won’t, because it’s a blatant lie fabricated to distort the truth and conceal the real crime. When such lies are used to shift blame onto the victims…

Assad's Henchmen: For years they sold us pride & sacrifice, swore they’d die for Syria, nothing could shake their courage. But when the walls closed in, the heroes of their own myths dropped the flag and ran like mice, proving their loyalty ended where danger began. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/16/w...

Should I be proud as a Syrian that my country is one of two on earth that recognize Putin's illegal annexation of Ukrainian territories, alongside North Korea? Al-Sharaa seems to think so, otherwise he would have taken Syria off that shameful list Assad put us on.

While many view Al-Sharaa's visit to Moscow as a necessary step for Syria’s security, the concessions Damascus will have to make are hard to swallow, a few:

Lose a single note from a melody, and the harmony falls apart. To my Druze brothers and sisters, drown out the noise of those who hate, listen to those of us who know that Syria without you is unrecognizable. We need you.

Zelenskyy, a leader at war, uses the podium to plead not just for Ukraine, but for Syria too. I hope Al-Sharaa doesn’t return the favor with an overdose of pragmatism with Moscow. Russia might no longer murder our children, but it still murders Ukraine’s.

Prominent Egyptian-British human rights defender Alaa Abdel Fattah was released from prison after years behind bars and reunited with his family in an emotional celebration following a long-awaited pardon by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

I don't know a single person, Syrian or not, friend or foe, who doesn't call Al-Sharaa a pragmatist. it's almost a nickname with folks who couldn't even define the word calling him one. After this interview, look out for those who will no longer see him as one. That's how you spot a bootlicker

🧵 You would think the "Sharia First" camp would characterize Al-Sharaa the same way they describe the Arab leaders here.

Let me be clear about my threshold on Syria: Even if Al-Sharaa governs flawlessly, if the caveat is that he rules for life, I'll oppose him ferociously. I know there are Syrians who accept the trade-off, unbothered by the failed stone-age concept of eternal rule. That’s their issue, not mine.

I still cannot understand how voices who once exposed Assad's crimes, were able to turn a blind eye to the Alawite and Druze massacres. Some have quietly shifted since, but have yet to admit that as the massacres unfolded, they inflicted irreparable damage by resorting to Assad's denial tactics.

🧵 In a recent televised interview, Al-Sharaa revealed part of a deal that was struck with Russia in the days leading up to the fall of the Assad regime. This could be part of an act of treason, here's why:

All this talk about Manaf Tlas as some sort of alternative to Al-Sharaa is deeply discouraging. I can’t understand why Syrians remain so fixated on strongman leadership, as if the fate of the country should rest on either of these men alone. 1/4

Not one convincing argument has been made for Al-Sharaa appointing relatives to guard billions and dominate key institutions, a state that relies on family rule to remain intact isn't a state at all, it's a reincarnation of the very system which Syrians literally just got rid of.

Wonderful news: Elizabeth Tsurkov who was kidnapped in Iraq by the Kataib Hezbollah militia in 2023 has finally been freed from captivity. Elizabeth remained 900 days stripped of the very freedom she spent her adult life advocating for. Tonight I sleep with a smile on my face.

Our upmost priority in Syria should be to breakaway from victimhood, before it becomes a breeding ground for new forms of societal oppression. Traumatised Syrians, many of whom have lost everything, are in desperate need of care, understanding and attentiveness.

Many Syrians are accusing those with an alternative political vision for Syria of simply being too lazy to form political parties and make their case to Syrians. Let's clear this one up: IT IS ILLEGAL TO FORM A POLITICAL PARTY IN SYRIA Anyone who contends this statement is ignorant or full of s**t

Syria urgently needs political parties to represent its broad political spectrum. By blocking them, Al-Sharaa creates a void that confines Syrians to identity politics. The longer we linger here, the likelier any future parties will be built solely along religious/ethnic lines. A disaster.

We're entitled to know Al-Sharaa’s net worth as a reference point to compare with his wealth moving forward, you know, to ensure he doesn't milk the Syrian people the way Assad did. Setting aside the $70k Baghdady gave him in 2011, if he is now a billionaire, we'd like to know.

1) The era of state corruption in Syria is supposedly over, and it’s time Al-Sharaa declares his personal wealth. He must also disclose gifts received while serving as head of state, and any assets he obtained belonging to Assad/former regime, since they in fact belong to the country and its people.

MOST SYRIANS WANT A SECULAR DEMOCRACY: 57% support separating religion from politics 61% for democracy 8% for an islamic state Let that sink in. And remember, Al-Sharaa and his entire government, won't even utter the word 'democracy', let alone deliver. Link: www.dohainstitute.org/ar/News/Page...

I’m Syrian, so of course I’ve seen plenty of cult-like leader worship in my time. Hafez, Bashar and now Al-Sharaa. The real tragedy is when those who once likened such people to sheep, end up becoming the sheep themselves.

If anyone is serious about Syria representing all its citizens, then removing 'Arab' from The Syrian Arab Republic is essential. It would show a true commitment to unity & the inclusion of all Syrians. Not doing so only highlights an existing appetite for division & exclusion. This is a no brainer

With social media replacing the town square, who said people don’t go to the zoo anymore? Here you have a considerable chunk of Europe lined up to watch a buffoon perform.

On what twisted basis is it acceptable that these two parasites sit in government? We’ve barely broken free from a 54-year family dynasty, and Al-Sharaa has the audacity to script us into another? If installing his brothers to consolidate power isn’t disqualifying, nothing is.