Rami Jarrah

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

The practical benefits of the lifted UN sanctions: • Personal sanctions lifted on Sharaa and Khattab, travel bans removed, able to handle money and benefit economically, including UN funds • Delisted HTS figures can legally join the government, hold ministries, and engage diplomatically 3/4

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

Yet now, it’s as if the burden falls on the witness, for having seen the faces of mothers & fathers stunned in silence, too shattered to even react, as the lifeless bodies of their most precious were pulled from beneath the rubble, realizing that their lives would never be the same again. 2/3

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

Let's also not forget when the governor appeared in a video back in July sat in a room with kidnapped women & children from Suwayda, to claim they were “safe” people were already outraged by the spectacle. It’s even more disturbing to realize that soon after they were thrown into prison. 7/8

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

Anyone arguing that releasing these civilians weakens the state’s ability to recover the Bedouins is admitting the deliberate detention of innocent people as leverage. If Hijri does not represent Suwayda, then these civilians have nothing to do with him and should never be tied to his actions. 5/8

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

Context: During the July Suwayda crisis, Bedouin tribes kidnapped civilians, the state then gained custody, but instead of letting them go, sent them to prison to hold as leverage. These were not criminals, but victims who were turned into detainees by the very state claiming to protect them. 3/8

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

🧵" 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

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 defending the SDF, just a point that one's grievances with them shouldn't mean engaging in reckless journalism, all it does is provoke those on the other side to respond. We end up in competition of deception, which is just another one of the depravities the current conflict generates. 6/9

🧵" 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

Of course, many sharing the videos of prisoners who claim their innocence are genuinely concerned and rightfully so. They should speak out and defend any potential victims of false imprisonment, and certainly if they've been falsely accused of terrorism. No one should wish that on their enemy. 4/9

🧵" 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

But there's a fiasco playing out on pan-Arab media, along with Syrian state propagandists posing as journalists, that have presented this danger. A clear attempt to portray widespread false imprisonment on terrorism charges in the camp before the facts have even been verified. 2/9

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.

🧵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

Even if the claim of an offensive by state aligned forces were true, nothing justifies such brutality. If the victims were indeed Arab civilians collectively punished based on their identity for actions they had nothing to do with, this marks a deeply grim development. 3/4

🧵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

I'm not arguing for the premature release of those in Al-Hol camp. I'm saying we need expertise, investment and external oversight. Otherwise they're effectively being sentenced to death, which is unacceptable. Many haven't committed crimes and are just trapped by ideology, especially children. 4/5

🧵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

In various conflicting ways, those in Al-Hol camp are being exploited by all sides, and it just seems like the conversation is about nuclear waste, something everyone wants someone else to bury, or like props to be put in front of a camera to serve whatever narrative suits the moment. 2/5

🧵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

In a country uniquely as diverse as Syria, any force that claims national legitimacy cannot carry itself like a tribal militia that appears compassionate to one community over another. 4/5

🧵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

I'm not saying the same doesn't hold true when the roles are reversed, I'm saying that all the fighting factions in Syria, including the Syrian army, are plagued in tribalism, which reinforces a broader point I'm making: HTS has failed to build a national army which was of course inevitable. 2/5

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.