Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza: The total number of Palestinians killed due to famine and malnutrition has risen to 313, including 119 children
Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip: 10 people, including two children, have died of starvation in the past 24 hours
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: US envoy Tom Barrack cancels his visit to Tyre and al-Khiam amid popular protests
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Lebanon: Israeli occupation forces carried out an explosion in the southern border town of Kfar Kila
Russian Ministry of Defense: 37 Ukrainian drones destroyed in 4 hours over regions of Russia and the Black Sea.
Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.

Political divisions, protests renewed in Syria: WSJ

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: The Wall Street Journal
  • 26 Dec 2024 18:30
  • 1 Shares
4 Min Read

Political unrest has deepened in Syria as attacks on minorities by the new regime forces have seen an uptick.

Listen
  • x
  • skjdfnjksdbkdfjsds
    Security forces of the new Syrian government secured an area in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (AP)

According to The Wall Street Journal, Syria's new government forces, led by Ahmad al-Shaara, face several problems, including fighting with former government supporters and demonstrations over the destruction of religious artifacts.

A Syria conflict monitoring group reported that 17 people were killed on Wednesday in clashes in Tartus Province, following an attempt by security forces to arrest an officer who served under the government of ousted President Bashar al-Assad, who was allegedly associated with a notorious prison.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that "14 members of the General Security force" under Syria's new authorities were killed, along with "three armed men" in Khirbet al-Maaza, bringing the death toll up from an earlier count of nine. The forces were attempting to arrest an officer who was among "those responsible for the crimes at Sednaya prison."

On Tuesday, a demonstration in Masyaf, in northwestern Hama, condemned the killing of three judges from the Alawite sect. Protesters called for unity and accountability for those responsible. During the protest, foreign armed individuals attempted to forcibly disperse the crowd, sparking tension, which led local elders to step in to prevent clashes. The judges were killed at the Rabia-Masyaf junction amid ongoing unrest across Syria.

Additionally, a video surfaced showing armed men attacking the Alawite sect's shrine in Aleppo, resulting in the deaths of five attendants, the mutilation of their bodies, and the shrine's destruction. The video was later claimed to be from a prior incident before the fall of Assad's regime.

Separate demonstrations erupted among Syria's Christian minority when military troops set a Christmas tree on fire. The new government forces later said that they had apprehended the foreign fighters responsible.

Related News

Death toll from Israeli raids on Damascus countryside rises to 5

IOF strikes target Damascus countryside, kill two, wound Syrian troops

The instability shows the new government's difficulty in administering multiple constituencies that were not within its authority before overthrowing Assad, according to Nanar Hawach, a senior Syria analyst at the International Crisis Group.

According to Hawach, “HTS doesn’t have the manpower to establish control over an entire country that it came to control in a span of two weeks,” adding that the best way forward is to include local groups to govern since it is considered by many as foreign. 

Firas Maalla, an Alawite who lives in a Damascus district with a high concentration of sect members says , "For now, fear governs us, and it is too early to judge HTS and how our future will turn out."

The tensions enhance the possibility of Syria entering a new battle as the happiness over the ousting of Assad phases out. 

Agreement reached to dissolve factions, merge them under Syrian MoD

A meeting between the leaders of the military factions in Syria with the leader of the new Syrian administration, Ahmad al-Sharaa, resulted in an agreement to dissolve all the factions and merge them under the umbrella of the Ministry of Defense, the official Syrian news agency SANA reported, citing the military operations room and sources affiliated with the Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group.

Al-Sharaa said on Sunday in a press conference in Damascus with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, that there will be no weapons in the hands of anyone other than the new Syrian state, whether from the factions that led an offensive that ousted the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad or from the factions present in the regions controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.

He had confirmed that all military factions would be merged into a single entity under the control of the Ministry of Defense in the new Syrian army.

Al-Sharaa also appointed Murhaf Abu Qasra, formerly known as Abu Hassan al-Hamwi, as defense minister in the interim Syrian government.

  • Syria
  • Regime change in Syria
  • Hayat Tahrir al-Sham
  • Bashar al-Assad
  • Ahmad al-Sharaa

Most Read

Almost instantly after the Helsinki Accords were signed, organisations sprouted to document purported violations, whose findings were fed to overseas embassies for international amplification. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

How ‘Human Rights’ became a Western weapon

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025
Israeli soldiers stand on the top of armoured vehicles parked on an area near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 (AP)

Palestinian fighters target Israeli soldiers, vehicles in Gaza

  • Politics
  • 21 Aug 2025
Launch of a ballistic missile from Yemen toward the occupied Palestinian territories. (YAF military media)

Yemeni Forces announce firing hypersonic missile at Al-Lydd Airport

  • Politics
  • 22 Aug 2025
The ‘Arab Façade’ for Israeli occupation in Gaza

The ‘Arab Façade’ for Israeli occupation in Gaza

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
A scene showing an al-Qassam Brigades fighter during an ambush on July 7, 2025, in a video released by the al-Qassam Brigades on August 26, 2025 (al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)
Politics

Al-Qassam reveals Beit Hanoun ambush targeting Israeli forces

A Palestinian youth stands on a hill overlooking IsraelI Ofer Prison, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (AP)
Politics

77 Palestinian prisoners killed in Israeli prisons since October 7

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during a joint press conference with US deputy special envoy for Middle East peace Morgan Ortagus at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, Tuesday, August 26, 2025 (AP)
Politics

US envoy Barrack calls Lebanese journalists 'animalistic"'

Tom Barrack's imperial tantrum in Beirut: When entitlement speaks (Photo by Mahdi Rtail)
Politics

Tom Barrack's imperial tantrum in Beirut: When entitlement speaks

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS