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HTS Takes Over Afrin in Syria’s Northern Aleppo

Members of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group bring reinforcements on the outskirts of the Afrin region of Syria's northern Aleppo province, on October 13, 2022, amid ongoing reported clashes between rival factions competing for power in northwest Syria. (Photo by Rami al SAYED / AFP)
Members of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group bring reinforcements on the outskirts of the Afrin region of Syria's northern Aleppo province, on October 13, 2022, amid ongoing reported clashes between rival factions competing for power in northwest Syria. (Photo by Rami al SAYED / AFP)
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HTS Takes Over Afrin in Syria’s Northern Aleppo

Members of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group bring reinforcements on the outskirts of the Afrin region of Syria's northern Aleppo province, on October 13, 2022, amid ongoing reported clashes between rival factions competing for power in northwest Syria. (Photo by Rami al SAYED / AFP)
Members of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group bring reinforcements on the outskirts of the Afrin region of Syria's northern Aleppo province, on October 13, 2022, amid ongoing reported clashes between rival factions competing for power in northwest Syria. (Photo by Rami al SAYED / AFP)

Violent confrontations and bloody clashes continued on Thursday for the fourth day in a row between the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army factions and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which allied with the Hamza Division and Sultan Suleiman Shah Division and took control of Afrin city and a number of surrounding villages in northern Syria’s Aleppo province.

Humanitarian organizations and the Syrian Civil Defense - known as the White Helmets - called on all parties to spare civilians and the displaced from the conflict, and to facilitate the work of rescue teams.

Activists in Afrin reported that tanks and military vehicles belonging to HTS entered the city, supported by the Hamza Division (Al-Hamzat) and Sultan Suleiman Shah Division (Al-Amashat), encircling it from all sides and imposing their full control.

This was followed by the withdrawal of the Levant Front, the Third Legion and Jaysh al-Islam factions form their bases, towards the city of Azaz, north of the city of Afrin, while several factions have declared neutrality and their refusal to engage in the fighting.

After its full control over the city, HTS published a statement on Telegram, conveying messages of reassurance to citizens of all ethnic affiliations.

“HTS confirms that the Arab and Kurdish people… or the displaced are the subject of our attention and appreciation, and we warn them against listening to the factional interests… We specifically mention the Kurdish brothers; they are the people of those areas and it is our duty to protect them and provide services to them,” the statement read.

Hundreds of families are still besieged in the neighborhoods near Al-Marwaha roundabout in the city of Al-Bab as a result of the clashes between the Hamza Division and the Third Corps, amid calls and appeals to allow civilians to leave for the sake of their safety.

Muayyad al-Najjar, an opposition activist, said that HTS and Al-Amashat factions managed to control the areas of Turaykhem, Zughra, and Al-Hamran commercial crossing, while violent clashes continue between the two parties in and around the city of Al-Bab, where two civilians died, including a child, and many were seriously injured.

Civilian activists in the city of Al-Bab organized a vigil, calling for an end to the fighting between the factions.

Leaders in the Ankara-backed Syrian National Army factions said that the alliance of some of the factions affiliated with the army, such as the Hamza Division, Sultan Suleiman Shah Division, and other factions, with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, thwarted all efforts to build the army and consolidate its unity.

However, factions allied with HTS see that the latter’s entry into the Olive Branch areas and its involvement in the ongoing confrontations there, would put “an end to the project of the Third Corps and its ally (Jaysh al-Islam), which aspires to engulf the other factions and control decision-making in the areas of Turkish operations (the Euphrates Shield, the Olive Branch, and the Peace Spring).

Observers believe that Türkiye’s silence and its failure to take a firm military position against the involvement of HTS in the ongoing fighting between the opposition factions, highlights its consent to the ongoing intervention.

Others noted that HTS’ involvement in the fighting, amid Turkish silence, constituted a threat that would put the SDF and its allies before one option: A Turkish military operation, or a military operation by HTS.

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Arab World

Lives Being Upended on Massive Scale in Lebanon, Says UN Refugee Agency

A boy looks on while lying under a blanket alongside family belongings in a makeshift encampment along the waterfront in Beirut on March 10, 2026, as civilians who fled the city's southern suburbs due to Israeli bombardment remain displaced. (AFP)
A boy looks on while lying under a blanket alongside family belongings in a makeshift encampment along the waterfront in Beirut on March 10, 2026, as civilians who fled the city's southern suburbs due to Israeli bombardment remain displaced. (AFP)
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Lives Being Upended on Massive Scale in Lebanon, Says UN Refugee Agency

A boy looks on while lying under a blanket alongside family belongings in a makeshift encampment along the waterfront in Beirut on March 10, 2026, as civilians who fled the city's southern suburbs due to Israeli bombardment remain displaced. (AFP)
A boy looks on while lying under a blanket alongside family belongings in a makeshift encampment along the waterfront in Beirut on March 10, 2026, as civilians who fled the city's southern suburbs due to Israeli bombardment remain displaced. (AFP)

‌Lives have been upended on a massive scale in Lebanon amid a wider conflict in the Middle East, with more than 667,000 people now registered as displaced within the country - an increase of ‌100,000 in ‌just one day - the ‌UN ⁠refugee agency said ⁠on Tuesday.

Lebanon was dragged into the US-Israeli war on Iran this month when Iran-backed Hezbollah launched rockets ⁠and drones into Israel, which ‌has ‌responded with heavy bombardment across the ‌country.

Some 120,000 people are ‌staying in government designated shelters, while others are still looking for somewhere to stay, the ‌UNHCR said, citing government figures.

"Many others are ⁠staying ⁠with relatives or friends or still searching for accommodation, and we see cars lined along the street with people sleeping in them and also on the sidewalks," said Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR representative in Lebanon.

Arab World

Syrian Interior Ministry Airs Confessions of ‘Saraya al-Jawad’ Members

The February operation targeted hideouts in the villages of Beit Alouni and Basniya in Latakia province. (SANA)
The February operation targeted hideouts in the villages of Beit Alouni and Basniya in Latakia province. (SANA)
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Syrian Interior Ministry Airs Confessions of ‘Saraya al-Jawad’ Members

The February operation targeted hideouts in the villages of Beit Alouni and Basniya in Latakia province. (SANA)
The February operation targeted hideouts in the villages of Beit Alouni and Basniya in Latakia province. (SANA)

The Syrian Interior Ministry released a video showing confessions from members of the "Saraya al-Jawad" armed group, nearly two weeks after announcing a raid on one of its main strongholds in the countryside of Jableh in the Latakia province.

According to the ministry, the February 23 operation targeted hideouts in the villages of Beit Alouni and Basniya in Latakia province. The raid killed the group’s coastal leader Bashar Abdullah Abu Ruqayya and two other commanders, and led to the arrest of six members.

The video released Monday includes footage from the twin operation carried out by the Interior Ministry’s Internal Security Directorate.

Authorities said the raid followed several days of surveillance and resulted in the destruction of a weapons depot and explosives storage site belonging to the group.

One member of the Syrian special task forces was killed and another was lightly wounded during the operation.

In the recorded confessions, detainees said they took part in attacks along the Syrian coast in March 2025. One suspect admitted to ambushing a General Security patrol and killing one officer during a clash.

The confessions also described the establishment of an operations room in a residential house that doubled as an arms depot. According to the detainees, the group received financial support from businessmen Ayman Jaber and Mohammad Jaber, while supplies were smuggled in from Lebanon.

Mohammad Jaber, a businessman close to the former government of Bashar al-Assad and a commander in the Desert Hawks militia founded by his brother Ayman, previously appeared in a television interview acknowledging his role in organizing attacks by pro-regime remnants along the Syrian coast on March 6, 2025.

Documents and recordings obtained by Al Jazeera’s investigative program Al-Mutahari suggested that senior figures linked to the former government sought to form armed groups to carry out attacks on Syrian security forces and the army.

The Interior Ministry said it is pursuing members of those networks and attempting to curb their activities.

Saraya al-Jawad has been active in Syria’s coastal region — particularly in Latakia, Jableh and Tartus — since August 2025, when activists circulated a video showing a car bomb targeting a General Security vehicle in rural Jableh.

Earlier this month, security forces in Tartus also arrested three suspects — Ali Zuhair Idris, Ammar Madin Youssef and Mousa Mazhar Mia — accused of planning attacks targeting the province’s security and civilians.

Officials said intelligence showed the group had received explosives training abroad before infiltrating back into Syria.

Arab World

Hezbollah Pressure on Military Court Undermines Lebanon’s Weapons Ban

Blankets are distributed at a school converted into a shelter in Beirut, where a banner displaying images of leaders and members of Hezbollah can be seen (EPA). 
Blankets are distributed at a school converted into a shelter in Beirut, where a banner displaying images of leaders and members of Hezbollah can be seen (EPA). 
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Hezbollah Pressure on Military Court Undermines Lebanon’s Weapons Ban

Blankets are distributed at a school converted into a shelter in Beirut, where a banner displaying images of leaders and members of Hezbollah can be seen (EPA). 
Blankets are distributed at a school converted into a shelter in Beirut, where a banner displaying images of leaders and members of Hezbollah can be seen (EPA). 

Lebanon’s government decision to prohibit any military or security activity by Hezbollah has yet to translate into meaningful enforcement.

Hezbollah has continued to escalate its military operations, launching rockets and drones toward Israeli territory, while signs of deteriorating security have appeared inside Lebanon, particularly among displaced residents who have fled southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Security agencies have struggled to identify those responsible for launching rockets toward Israel. However, Lebanese forces recently recorded a notable development with the arrest of around 30 individuals affiliated with or supportive of Hezbollah.

The detainees were apprehended while fleeing alongside civilians from southern areas and the southern suburbs of Beirut after being found carrying individual weapons, including assault rifles, pistols and grenades.

The arrests appeared to signal a tentative shift in how Lebanon’s security and judicial institutions handle the issue of illegal weapons. Yet the move quickly ran up against what officials say is Hezbollah’s continuing influence over judicial decisions.

Last week, the military court tried three Hezbollah members detained days earlier. The court imposed a fine of 900,000 Lebanese pounds —about $10 — on each of them for possessing unlicensed military weapons and waived any prison sentence.

The ruling diverges sharply from typical sentences in similar cases, where possession or transport of unlicensed weapons usually carries at least a one-month prison term.

Judicial sources say the unusually lenient sentence reflects pressure exerted by Hezbollah on the military court to secure the release of its detained members.

According to the sources, the group sought their release last Thursday and pushed for their trial to be held the following day. The military prosecutor’s office objected, resulting in the hearing being postponed until Monday.

The verdict also drew criticism from the government commissioner to the military court, Judge Claude Ghanem, who promptly appealed the ruling before the Military Court of Cassation, requesting tougher penalties.

A judicial source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the ruling was “extremely lenient and failed to account for all the legal provisions under which the suspects were charged.” The source added that the commissioner had received preliminary investigation files concerning four additional detainees and was preparing to file charges against them in the coming hours while seeking stricter sentences.

Only hours after the verdict was issued, Lebanese Justice Minister Adel Nassar ordered that the civilian adviser to the military tribunal, Judge Abbas Jaha, be referred to the Judicial Inspection Authority for investigation.

A Justice Ministry source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the referral stemmed from “the circumstances surrounding the trial and his failure to object to this suspicious ruling.” The source noted that another member of the court panel, a military officer, had opposed the decision while Jaha approved it without reservation.

Weapons and rising tensions in host communities

Legally, the arrest of armed Hezbollah members represents a direct application of the government decision banning any military or security activity by the group. In principle, the ruling applies to anyone carrying weapons outside state authority and places them under threat of prosecution.

The more pressing challenge, however, lies in dealing with armed individuals among displaced populations.

Several neighborhoods in Beirut, including Hamra, Ras Beirut, Sakiat al-Janzir and Ain al-Remmaneh, as well as the towns of Aramoun and Kfarshima in Mount Lebanon, have witnessed repeated incidents involving gunfire, displays of weapons and confrontations with local residents.

Videos circulating on social media show armed men threatening residents, including footage recorded Sunday in Aramoun.

These incidents have heightened anxiety among host communities already grappling with mounting social and economic pressures.

Some residents say the security measures in place remain “below the required level,” arguing that the absence of deterrent action risks encouraging further incidents and creating the impression that the law is applied hesitantly when those involved are linked to Hezbollah.

A Lebanese security source, however, insisted that authorities treat all security incidents seriously. Delays in reaching certain locations, the source said, often result from limited personnel and the difficulty of maintaining coverage across all displacement areas.

Security forces maintain a near-permanent presence at the entrances of schools and facilities housing displaced people, the source added, while most incidents occur in nearby streets and neighborhoods. Patrols respond immediately to reports of gunfire or clashes, detaining suspects or pursuing them if they leave the scene.

Nevertheless, the official acknowledged that the continued incidents could lead to broader friction between displaced populations and local residents — particularly in densely populated areas — at a time when host communities are already under severe economic strain and displacement is expected to continue for months.