A Syrian rights monitoring platform has called for an immediate halt to armed mobilisation being organised under the banner of “Arab tribes” in Hasakah province, in the country’s north-east, warning that the build-up — accompanied by online incitement against Kurds — could push the region back toward violence.
Rights Monitor Syria said it had been tracking the escalation for several days. It includes the erection of what has been dubbed a “war tent” in the Milbiya area south of Hasakah city, and the gathering of armed men in several parts of the province, particularly in areas bordering Kurdish-majority districts.
Videos circulated on social media alongside the mobilisation call for the expulsion from Syria of Kurdish forces, chief among them the People’s Protection Units (YPG), which fought against the Islamic State group in recent years. The same material urges rejection of the historical Kurdish place names in common use and objects to Kurdish figures holding administrative posts in the province. While the mobilisation publicly frames its demands around extending government control over the area, the platform said its monitoring points to religious and ethnic themes being used in the recruitment drive.
Figures with documented records
Among those appearing at the mobilisation events, the platform said, are Ahmad Hammad al-Asaad, known as Abu Fadel, whose name has been linked to abuses in the majority-Druze province of Suwayda in July 2025, and Qusai al-Shamri, accused of documented abuses during the same events. Al-Shamri was previously released under a presidential pardon and has appeared in footage carrying the Islamic State group’s banner. In May 2026 the platform documented a widely shared video in which he publicly called for Kurds to be bombed with chemical weapons — language it described as direct incitement to violence against a national group and a breach of international standards prohibiting incitement to discrimination and violence.
A fragile agreement
The developments come only months after deadly fighting in north-east Syria between forces of the interim Syrian authorities, led by Ahmad al-Sharaa, and Kurdish forces. The clashes broke out in early January 2026 and ended with an agreement between the Syrian Democratic Forces and the interim authorities on January 29, 2026. Neither side has announced that the deal has collapsed or been breached.
Still, the platform said, continued mobilisation and the absence of any clear position or deterrent measures from the interim authorities raise questions about the commitment to preventing further escalation. Armed groups operating outside official institutions and adopting rhetoric aimed at specific national communities, it added, are a direct threat to security and stability, whatever tribal or social cover they claim.
The platform called for an end to all armed mobilisation outside state institutions, independent investigations into incitement and accountability for those who call for crimes against any national or religious community, urgent action against the spread of unregulated weapons, adherence by all parties to existing agreements, and protection of civilians without discrimination on grounds of nationality, religion or political affiliation.
This report was produced by the HuMedia newsroom.
