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• Transition Meetings

• Appointments

• Political Developments

• Economic Developments

• Infrastructure Developments

• Education Developments

• Security Developments

• Humanitarian Developments

• Health Developments

• Justice Developments

• International Developments

CONFLICT & SECURITY:

• Israel

• ISIS

• Idlib

• Aleppo

• Tartus

• Hama

• Homs

• Raqqa

• Hasakeh

• Deir ez Zour

• Rif Dimashq

• Damascus

• Daraa

• Suwayda

• Quneitra

SYRIA’S TRANSITION:

Transition Meetings:

June 2:

• President Ahmed al-Sharaa hosted a meeting with notable Syrian cleric and intellectual Ahmed Muaz al-Khatib on June 2, amid speculation in Syrian media that was being positioned for a potential role in the upcoming parliament.

  

• A Syrian delegation led by Assistant Minister of Justice Mustafa Al-Qasim participated in a meeting with the UN’s Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Section in Vienna, Austria on June 2.

• Later that day, the same Syrian delegation also met with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and its team dedicated to combating weapons and human smuggling.

• Governor of Hasakeh Nour al-Din Ahmed hosted a meeting with the Director of the Semalka Border Crossing, Hammoud Hammoud, on June 2, to discuss the ongoing integration process, operations at the crossing itself, and proposals to improve and increase its capacity.

• Later that day, Hasakeh governor Ahmed participated in a large meeting chaired by governorate Education Director Adnan al-Bari with school officials from across the region to plan ahead for the incoming examination period.

• Governor of Raqqa Abdulrahman Salama hosted a meeting with stakeholders from the region’s agricultural sector on June 2 — alongside the Director of Agriculture, the President of the Farmers’ Union, the Director of the Grain Foundation, and the Director of Emergency Services — to discuss mechanisms for marketing wheat crops, granting certificates of origin, and procedures for protecting crops from fires.

• Minister of Higher Education Marwan al-Halabi presided over the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Chinese biotechnology company ETWA on June 2 establish and operate a specialized center for research, innovation, and clinical applications in the field of cell therapy in Syria.

• Governor to Suwayda hosted a meeting with a delegation from Medicins Sans Frontiers in al-Mazraa on June 2 to discuss the organization’s work in the governor and the need to prioritize vaccination programs and urgent medical priorities.

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In the early hours of Friday June 5, three Arab men were broken out of their prison cell in Suwayda city and with the help of a team of Druze militiamen, smuggled their way through Suwayda’s western countryside and crossed by foot into government-held areas in Daraa. There, they were met by officers from the Ministry of Interior and General Intelligence Directorate, who’d helped plan and orchestrate their escape over recent months.

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The overall level of violence in Syria rose over the past week, to a level last seen in mid-April. Over the 7-day period, a total of 16 deaths were confirmed, 7 (44%) of which were caused by unexploded ordnance (UXO). The…

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SYRIA’S TRANSITION:

• Transition Meetings

• Appointments

• Political Developments

• Economic Developments

• Infrastructure Developments

• Education …

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• Transition Meetings

• Appointments

• Political Developments

• Economic Developments

• Infrastructure Developments

• Education Developments

• Security Developments

• Humanitarian Developments

• Health Developments

• Justice Developments

• International Developments

CONFLICT & SECURITY:

• Israel

• ISIS

• Idlib

• Aleppo

• Latakia

• Tartus

• Hama

• Homs

• Raqqa

• Hasakeh

• Deir ez Zour

• Rif Dimashq

• Damascus

• Daraa

• Suwayda

SYRIA’S TRANSITION:

Transition Meetings:

May 19:

• President Ahmed al-Sharaa hosted a visit by Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin on May 19, to discuss regional developments and bilateral ties. The meeting was also attended by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaybani and General Intelligence Director Hussein Salama.

  

• The Deputy Commander of Internal Security in Hasakeh, Brigadier General Siamend Afrin, traveled to Jarablus, Aleppo on May 19 alongside the new Director of Kobani district, Ibrahim Muslim, in order to meet with Jarablus district director Yasser Ahmed and coordinate security and service provision.

• Governor to Suwayda Mustafa Bakkour hosted a meeting with UN Deputy Special Envoy Claudio Cordone on May 19, during which they discussed the ongoing challenge associated with examination season; facilitating the return of displaced people; and ongoing reconstruction and rehabilitation work.

  

• Governor of Aleppo Azzam al-Gharib hosted a meeting with UAE-based Syrian businessman Ahmed Abdulkader Sankari - the Chairman of the Al-Sankari Investment Group - on May 19 to discuss proposals to support the governorate’s health and education sectors.

• Minister of Culture Mohammed Yassin al-Saleh spoke on a panel at the Doha International Book Fair on May 19 entitled “Cultural Challenges in Syria after Liberation”.

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1. NEW: Government Captagon Seizures

2. NEW: Internal Suwayda [In-]Stability (incidents, casualties)

3. NEW: Jordanian Military Action - Drug Interceptions & Airstrikes

4. NEW: Lebanon-linked Captagon Seizures in Syria

5. Violent deaths in Syria (by governorate & overall)

6. Israeli military actions in Syria (ground incursions, air/artillery strikes, arrests)

7. ISIS attacks (2023-present)

8. Anti-government insurgency (by governorate & overall)

9. Vigilantism

10. Unexploded ordnance; UXO (by governorate & overall)

11. Kidnappings (by governorate & overall)

Syria just achieved its most stable week in 15 years, with a total of 6 violent deaths confirmed nationwide, 3 (50%) of which were caused by unexploded ordnance (UXO). Until this past week, the previous record low for overall violence had been set the previous week (May 5-12, 2026), when a total of 9 deaths were recorded across Syria.

As noted previously, the incidence of direct (i.e. non-UXO) violence in Syria has also been on a sustained record low since early-March 2026, with all records from the past 15 years recorded in the last 10 weeks:

• 2 deaths (March 24-31)

• 3 deaths (April 14-21, May 12-19)

• 5 deaths (April 21-28)

• 6 deaths (March 3-10, April 7-14)

• 7 deaths (March 10-17, March 31-April 7 and May 7-12)

• 8 deaths (March 17-24)

Looking more closely at all the datasets and security developments in Syria from the past week, three areas of significant analytical insight are worth highlighting:

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• Transition Meetings

• Appointments

• Political Developments

• Economic Developments

• Infrastructure Developments

• Education Developments

• Security Developments

• Humanitarian Developments

• Health Developments

• Justice Developments

• International Developments

CONFLICT & SECURITY:

• Israel

• ISIS

• Idlib

• Aleppo

• Latakia

• Tartus

• Hama

• Homs

• Raqqa

• Hasakeh

• Deir ez Zour

• Rif Dimashq

• Damascus

• Daraa

• Suwayda

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As noted previously, the incidence of direct (i.e. non-UXO) violence in Syria has also been on a sustained record low since early-March 2026, with all record lows from the past 15 years recorded in the last 10 weeks:

• 2 deaths (March 24-31)

• 3 deaths (April 14-21)

• 5 deaths (April 21-28)

• 6 deaths (March 3-10, April 7-14)

• 7 deaths (March 10-17, March 31-April 7 and May 7-12)

• 8 deaths (March 17-24)

For the past 2 weeks, several areas of analytical insight are worth highlighting when it comes to conflict and security data:

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SYRIA’S TRANSITION

• Transition Meetings

• Appointments

• Political Developments

• Economic Developments

• Infrastructure Developments

• Education Developments

• Security Developments

• Humanitarian Developments

• Health Developments

• Justice Developments

• International Developments

CONFLICT & SECURITY:

• Israel

• ISIS

• Idlib

• Aleppo

• Tartus

• Hama

• Homs

• Raqqa

• Hasakeh

• Deir ez Zour

• Rif Dimashq

• Damascus

• Daraa

• Suwayda

GOVERNMENT RESHUFFLE:

• On May 9, President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a series of decrees appointing:

  Syria Weekly is a reader-supported publication. To receive full posts and to support my work, please consider becoming a paid subscriber.

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Please note that we’ve added a new dataset this week, covering all seizures of Captagon across Syria since January 1, 2025. As far as all publicly recorded incidents are concerned, a total of 188,959,550 Captagon pills have been seized since then.

As with all other datasets, this one will now be updated every week.

The overall level of violence in Syria over the past 7 days remained in line with the record lows of recent weeks, with a total of 13 deaths confirmed in violent incidents across the country. However, a notable and negative shift occurred that is worthy of caution.

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Following several interviews with senior officials in Damascus and an analysis of Syria Weekly coverage, data and analysis, it is clear that this foiled plot is just the latest in a year-long campaign by Hezbollah to undermine, destabilize and ultimately defeat Syria’s fragile post-Assad transition.

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SYRIA’S TRANSITION:

• Transition Meetings

• Appointments

• Political Developments

• Economic Developments

• Infrastructure Developments

• Education Developments

• Security Developments

• Humanitarian Developments

• Health Developments

• Justic…

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