Wednesday News Bulletin from Hizb ut-Tahrir Radio Syria Province
2025/06/11
Headlines:
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Casualties and injuries in an armed attack in Talkalakh, and Homs lawyers criticize the Civil Peace Committee and its issuing of indulgences to those accused of war crimes.
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Washington warns against targeting President al-Shara and calls for coordinating international protection around him.
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Ben Gvir renews his storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque for the tenth time since taking office.
Details:
Two civilians were killed and two others were injured today, Wednesday, after being subjected to a "direct" targeting by unknown gunmen in Talkalakh, in the Homs countryside. The head of the Internal Security in Homs Governorate, Muhannad al-Naasan, said that the Internal Security Directorate in Homs received a report stating the killing of two and the injury of civilians with "serious" wounds by unknown persons in the city of Talkalakh, stressing that the concerned authorities have begun investigating the incident, according to a statement published by the Homs Governorate on its Facebook page. On Tuesday evening, the Internal Security Directorate in Talkalakh announced that it had arrested members of an outlaw group during a security operation carried out in cooperation with the General Intelligence Service, and during its security operation, the Internal Security Directorate seized a weapons and ammunition depot in the village of Umm al-Dawali in the Homs countryside, containing "Katyusha" missiles, individual weapons, and various ammunition.
Homs lawyers criticized the statements and measures issued by the Civil Peace Committee during the press conference it held on Tuesday, considering that what happened was a "dangerous transgression of the principles of transitional justice and the rights of victims," and "granting a deed of amnesty and forgiveness to a war criminal." In a statement, the Transitional Justice and Human Rights Defense Committee, in the Homs Bar Association branch, said that the press conference organized by the Civil Peace Committee dealt with clarifying the latest developments in the committee's work, especially some of the recently taken measures, where it was announced that "security" was granted to the so-called Fadi Saqr by the Syrian state. It pointed out that the Civil Peace Committee gave Fadi Saqr a pivotal role in the civil peace operations, claiming its importance in "dismantling the node and solving problems," as a number of officers of the ousted regime were released on the grounds that there was no legal justification to continue their detention. Homs lawyers expressed their strong condemnation of the statements of the spokesman for the Civil Peace Committee, Hassan Soufan, considering that "granting indulgences to a person accused of committing war crimes constitutes a direct provocation to the victims and their families." The lawyers affirmed in their statement that "the victims and the guardians of the blood alone have the right to determine their legal and human rights destiny, and this right may not be taken away from them under any pretext or political or security justification." The organization "Caesar Files for Justice" criticized what it described as attempts to rehabilitate those involved in war crimes and grant them social roles by the new Syrian administration. This came in a statement issued by the organization commenting on what was circulated regarding the media conference held in Damascus yesterday, Tuesday, with the participation of a member of the Civil Peace Committee, Hassan Soufan, and the official spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, Noureddine al-Baba. The organization affirmed that comprehensive justice constitutes the basis of stability, and that real peace cannot be achieved without holding accountable those who committed violations against the Syrian people during the rule of the Assad regime. The organization described the statements linking stability and civil peace to postponing justice as a "dangerous conceptual fallacy," pointing out that prioritizing stability over accountability reproduces violence and threatens the chances of lasting peace.
A team of experts from the International Monetary Fund, headed by Ron van Roden, concluded a visit to the Syrian capital, Damascus, with the aim of assessing the economic and financial situation in the country. In a concluding statement issued by Van Roden, he confirmed that Syria faces enormous challenges. The statement said that the country is suffering from a sharp decline in economic production, a deterioration in real incomes, and high poverty rates, along with weak public institutions, and deteriorating health, education and infrastructure services in vast areas of the country. During his visit, which extended between June 1 and 5, the technical team of the International Monetary Fund discussed with Syrian officials a set of short-term priorities, foremost among which is preparing a budget for the rest of 2025, identifying available local and external resources, while ensuring that spending on basic needs is met, especially salaries, health and education services, and supporting the most vulnerable groups.
The US ambassador and special envoy to Syria during the era of President Donald Trump, Tom Parack, expressed his country's administration's concern about the possibility of their new man, Ahmed al-Shara, being subjected to assassination attempts by extremist opponents, stressing the need to establish an advanced protection system to protect him from these growing threats. In an interview with the "Al-Monitor" website, Barak said: "We need to coordinate a protection system around al-Shara," adding that extremist parties inside Syria, especially from the breakaway jihadi factions, view the new government's attempts in Damascus to build an inclusive system as a threat to their ideological and military interests. Barak affirmed that the American solution is not based on direct military intervention, but rather through "close intelligence exchange between US allies," to deter any plans that threaten the security of the new Syrian leadership. In his assessment of President al-Shara, Barak described him as "smart, confident, and focused," denying the accusations related to his jihadi past, and praising what he described as the "moderate Islam" that al-Shara seeks to enshrine in the structure of the new state, citing social reforms witnessed by Idlib such as the abolition of the morality police, the easing of restrictions on dress, and openness to the components of society from Christians and Druze. Despite the escalating sectarian violence in some areas, especially on the Syrian coast, Barak believed that the new government is managing the security and political file with "the utmost possible wisdom," calling for continued international support for it. He also praised al-Shara's efforts to return confiscated property to the sons of minorities, and for forming a government that includes representatives of various spectrums, reflecting a non-exclusionary national vision.
The Minister of "Occupation Security" Itamar Ben Gvir stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque this morning, Wednesday, under heavy protection from the occupation police, in a tenth repetition of these incursions since he took office at the end of 2022. Press sources reported that more than 100 members of the occupation police spread out in the courtyards of the mosque to secure Ben Gvir's storming, accompanied by a number of his party's deputies, while 206 settlers stormed Al-Aqsa during the morning period, and performed religious rituals and prayers. The occupation police also prevented Palestinians from entering the mosque coinciding with the storming operation.
