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Weekly highlight from your anarchist comrades in #NES
29.12.25-04.01.26
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# CLASHES DURING AN ALAWITE CIVILIAN PROTEST
On December 28, anti-government Alawite fighters launched attacks on government security forces in coastal Syria during an Alawite demonstration. The protest was organized as a response to an attack by the Salafi-jihadi group Saraya Ansar al Sunnah on an Alawite mosque in Homs City. The demonstration demanded federal governance, enhanced state protection for Alawites, an end to sectarian violence, and the release of former detainees arrested after the Assad regime's collapse in December 2024. The situation escalated when pro-government counter-protestors and government forces intervened. Amid the chaos, anti-government Alawite fighters, hidden among the protesters, opened fire and threw grenades on General Security Service (GSS) forces resulting in one dead and two wounded in the ranks of the GSS. In response, the Syrian Ministry of Defense (MoD) deployed armored units and military police to Latakia and Tartous.
The attackers may have been Alawite insurgents deliberately attempting to provoke a government response. Militants from both the Men of Light (Saraya al Jawad, an Assadist insurgent group) and the Coastal Shield Brigade (which also has significant ties to the Assad regime) attacked security forces during civilian protests in Latakia City.
The presence of Assadist slogans at the demonstrations, along with the nature of the attacks, suggests a degree of support among some protesters for these Alawite insurgent factions and could indicate a nascent support for an insurgent movement aligned with Assadist ideals. The immediate threat posed of these Assadist groups to the Syrian government is currently low, given their limited scale, effectiveness, and organizational structure. However, if given the necessary time and space to recruit and organize, these networks could expand significantly.
# ABDULLAH ÖCALAN STATEMENT ON THE MARCH 10 AGREEMENT
In a statement released on December 30, Abdullah Öcalan claimed that the agreement aims to establish a “democratic political model.” He emphasized that this model would facilitate “democratic integration” into the “central structure,” referring to the SDF's potential integration within the broader Syrian state.
An Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) official interpreted the term “democratic integration” to mean the continuation of the current “administrative and cognitive situation” in northern and eastern Syria. This interpretation aligns with the vision of a federalized Syria defended by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
# MEETING BETWEEN AANES AND SYRIAN GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES
Mazloum Abdi was expected to travel to Damascus on December 29 to discuss or finalize this military integration agreement; however, his visit was postponed due to “logistical and technical arrangements.” The postponement of Mazloum Abdi's visit coincides with clashes that erupted in Aleppo between the Asayish and the Ministry of Defense (MoD) forces. In a statement, the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), emphasized on December 31 that implementing the March 10 Agreement with the Syrian government is a “political priority,” advocating for the drafting of a new constitution that incorporates federalism, a demand the SDF has consistently maintained since the agreement's signing.
The AANES negotiating team spokerperson indicated on December 30 that AANES and representatives from the Syrian government may meet in the next two weeks to discuss the integration of SDF into the Syrian state.
# CONTINUOUS DEVELOPMENTS:
- On December 24 and 25, the Jordanian military carried out airstrikes targeting Captagon production sites, arms caches, and smuggler positions in Suweida Province. The Jordanian military also struck seven sites belonging to the Suweida National Guard’s control. The Suweida National Guard denied that Jordanian airstrikes hit its facilities and accused Bedouins of conducting the cross-border Captagon smuggling.
- On December 30, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) reported that US and partner forces have killed at least seven ISIS fighters and captured about 18 others during operations in Syria between December 20 and 29.
- On December 31, Syrian security forces prevented a suicide vest attack that sought to target New Year’s celebrations in Aleppo City. The attacker likely intended to target the nearby Armenian Church of Forty Martyrs.
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# EVALUATIONS
This week we will touch upon the broader context, since nothing happens in a vacuum. As the global events influence the local situations, revolutionary shifts don’t happen without leaving a trace and influence on the people and the world. That is also why we are here, doing what we are doing.
This time we want to talk about events in Iran. Iran is an important actor in the geopolitics of the Middle East. Its influence also had a strong impact on Syria during the Assad rule. Smuggling and other transportation routes were passing through Syria, supplying Hezbollah. After the fall of the Assad regime, Iran was pushed out of Syria and has generally lost its previous power in the region. The damage sustained during the Israeli attacks in June 2025 became another factor that affected the situation of Islamic Republic.
Protests have been regularly flaring up in Iran. The 2022 protests under leading slogan «Woman, Life, Freedom» are famous globally. Just like back then, the protests spread all over the country. People’s discontent spread due to economic factors — inflation, growing prices and poverty, but eventually arrived at calling to take down the regime. Protesters clash with the police in the streets, there are killed and injured.
During Israel-Iran escalation in 2025, an interesting detail to notice were the statements of Netanyahu and Trump on the intentional destabilization of Iran with the goal of regime change. It is a pretty standard approach of the USA towards “inconvenient” governments in the regions of their interests: clearing the path for more co-operative politicians, as it was in Afghanistan. During the most recent escalation of Israel-Iran war there were rumors spreading that there already exists a tentative “democratic” ruling figure, backed and prepared by the USA. Although this information wasn’t confirmed, we can well imagine that it can be true, considering USA methods in other instances (e.g. the recent kidnapping of the Venezuelan president). In this context, Trump’s declared intention to come to the aid of Iranian protesters if Iran will “cruelly kill peaceful demonstrators, as they do,” becomes more understandable.
Iranian Kurdistan, Rojhilat, is one of Iran’s rebellious regions. Their attempts to declare autonomy have not been successful for decades, but the guerrilla struggle in the territory of Iran continues. PJAK (Party of Free Life of Kurdistan) supported the protesters and again condemned the current regime.
Kurdish liberation movement is fighting for freedom not only in Syria or Turkey. News from Rojhilat take the headlines somewhat less frequently, but the situation in Iran is especially hard for the liberation struggle. PJAK forces include a female armed wing, which is especially important in the context if a dictatorship which executes “moral policing” over the population and, as usual, harms the most vulnerable groups, including women.
Instability in Tehran could be a beneficial circumstance for the Kurdish region and could weaken imperialist alliances of the Russia — Iran — China axis. Nevertheless, a puppet government installed by the USA, Israel or whoever else won’t address the Kurdish question in Iran. Furthermore, addressing the Kurdish question in a neoliberal imperialist framework can’t be a true solution for a multi-ethnic and multi-religious Middle East. Democratic confederalism, already being implemented in NES by PYD and advocated by PJAK in Rojhilat, offers a much more promising option to bring peace.
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#Syria #NES #SDF #DAANES #AANES #SNA #SDF #PYD #YPJ #YPG #HTS #Rojava #Kurdistan #Revolution #DefendRojava #Anarchy #Anarchism #Comrades #Internationalism #AbdullahOcalan #Öcalan #PKK #WomenLifeFreedom #TekosinaAnarsist
