اخبار سوريا اليوم – وطن نيوز
سوريا اليوم – اخبار سوريا عاجل
W6nnews.com ==== وطن === تاريخ النشر – 2026-02-27 17:52:00
About two days ago, the Governor of Aleppo, Azzam Gharib, appointed Khairo Al-Ali Al-Dawoud as responsible for the Afrin region, succeeding Masoud Battal. This may seem like normal news, and it could even be positive for choosing a character who belongs to the same nationality that makes up the majority of the region. It has long suffered from years of control by armed Islamist and militia groups and factions, which caused operations of repression, plunder of resources, and material and moral cultural genocide on a national basis, in addition to systematic demographic change. However, research into the biography and positions of Khairu Al-Daoud seems surprising and may reveal, among other things, a cause for concern, especially with the official of Kurdish origins adopting an extremist discourse based on distortion, slander, and describing minorities as “separatists” and “collaborators” simply because they are contrary to the concept of political centralization in government, and are demanding their rights and not being ostracized and excluded and then granted their civil citizenship rights at the legal and constitutional levels. In addition to this, other positions highlight his external and ideological alignments with extremist jihadist Islamic forces, starting from the “Taliban” through “Hamas” and even the Salafist symbols spread with their hostile and contemptuous discourse on the state of citizenship and civil rights, women, and the concepts and values of freedoms. An Afrin official supports “Hamas” in college. According to a statement published by Aleppo Governorate, on its official identifiers today, last Tuesday, Al-Daoud was born in Aleppo in 1993. He is a student at the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Idlib. He previously held several positions in the Syrian transitional government, including the position of official of the Events Office in the Directorate of Political Affairs in Aleppo Governorate, after the fall of the Assad regime. Al-Daoud comes from the village of Al-Burj in the Al-Bab area in the Aleppo countryside, while his origins go back to the village Kurzêlê Cûmê in Afrin countryside. The co-chair of the External Relations Department of the “Self-Administration,” Elham Ahmed, said that during the discussions with Damascus, the need for the Kurds to have a role in managing the Afrin region was stressed, indicating that the appointment of the new official in charge of Afrin, Khairu Al-Ali Al-Daoud, was not carried out in coordination with the “Self-Administration,” according to the local “Hawar” news agency. Aside from the issue of the lack of coordination between the Syrian government and the “Autonomous Administration” regarding the official responsible for the Afrin region with a Kurdish majority in the countryside of Afrin Governorate, thousands of whose original Kurdish residents were displaced as a result of the Turkish attack in cooperation with the factions of the “Syrian National Army” supported by it in 2018 on the Afrin region, then controlling it, and the subsequent commission of many serious violations against the region’s residents, according to international human rights documents, the newly appointed official The Damascus government lacks, firstly, the factor of scientific and academic competence, while there are many people from the region who lived and grew up in their city and possess extensive experience and competencies. But perhaps they are not from the close circle of the new rulers in Damascus, and therefore Al-Dawoud received the position because he lived and studied in Idlib and is one of the circles close to the government in Damascus, which raises fundamental questions about the government’s policies in appointing people to authority and government institutions, which in the end belong to the general public of Syrians and are not affiliated with any specific authority. In addition, Al-Daoud’s political and religious backgrounds also raise many serious and fundamental questions. A quick review of his Facebook account reveals his clear and complete support for the Hamas movement, which carried out the October attacks against Israel, and the devastating war on Gaza that followed. About a year ago, he published a post in which he expressed his condolences to Muhammad Al-Deif and described him and his companions as “martyrs of Al-Qassam,” in a clear indication of his support for its military wing, the “Al-Qassam Brigades.” The government official also published another post on his Facebook account, which included a Qur’anic verse through which he highlighted the use of religion in favor of what is political, and even the use of Qur’anic discourse in legitimizing militant jihadi tendencies. The post stated: “Among the believers are men who are true to what they pledged to God. Some of them have died, some of them are waiting and they have not changed anything,” before adding: “May God have mercy on the leaders and heroes of Gaza, and make their blood a prelude to the victory of the nation.” “It is great, and it is jihad, victory or martyrdom,” in a clear expression of support for the military positions of “Hamas,” as well as the jihadi discourse related to the war in Gaza. This comes at a time when the Syrian transitional government is conducting indirect rounds of negotiations with Israel with the aim of reaching security arrangements. This is not the first incident to raise questions in this context. In late December, clips spread of Syrian soldiers chanting slogans in support of Gaza and anti-Israel during a military parade on the Mezzeh Highway in Damascus, as part of the activities marking the first anniversary of the fall of the former regime. After that, the Israeli security system held high-level meetings, and Israeli Army Radio reported that Tel Aviv intends to send “strongly worded” messages to Damascus, demanding an official clarification and condemnation of the slogans raised during that military parade. He has a jihadi and Salafist background. By examining the publications of Al-Daoud, the government official in the Kurdish-majority Afrin region, it becomes clear that he has prominently adopted a Salafist-jihadist discourse. On his Facebook account, he published a post about Sheikh Abu Ishaq Al-Huwaini, the well-known Egyptian preacher and one of the most prominent symbols of the Salafist school in Egypt, with his derogatory speech against women in particular, in addition to his takfiri positions. He wrote: “Life, even if it is decorated, is short… and living is the life of the hereafter,” in an expression that reflects his adoption and praise of a religious discourse affiliated with the Salafist movement. He also published another post in which he addressed the characterization of Shiites, saying that he followed the speech of Sheikh Othman Al-Khamis, a Kuwaiti Islamic preacher who belongs to the Salafist movement, in a podcast episode entitled “Without Paper,” and focused on the controversy surrounding the issue of declaring Shiites as infidels. Al-Daoud stated that he did not find in Sheikh Al-Khamis’s words an explicit call to disbelieve Shiites in general, but he considered his description accurate with regard to those who “associate gods with God,” in reference to some Shiite sects. In his post, Al-Dawoud added an offensive statement towards the Shiites after the “Khomeini Revolution,” accusing them of playing a role in the “destruction of Islamic countries,” and calling on Islamic scholars to adopt a similar description, considering that silence about this leads to more “bloodshed.” Al-Khamis is known for his religious lectures and sermons, in which he focuses on the Salafist interpretation of the Qur’an and Sunnah. He also pays attention to doctrinal and jurisprudential issues related to the Salafist school. He is also known for his jihadist and sometimes inflammatory views, especially regarding sectarian issues and the positions of some Islamic groups, and he has a large presence on the media and social media platforms, including podcasts and recorded sermons, where he discusses issues of faith, jurisprudence, and religious policy. Also, Khairo Al-Daoud, a government official in the Afrin region, has an old post dating back to the year 2021, in which he prayed to God, saying: “Oh God, accept your servant Sheikh Musa Al-Qarni, who died in the prisons of darkness, the prisons of the Salul family, after being arrested for nearly 15 years. Oh God, take revenge on the darkness. Oh God, save your saints from their prisons, O Lord of the Worlds.” The publication shows his support for jihadist discourse and Salafist figures who were killed or arrested in the framework of what is known as “prisons of darkness,” with a call for revenge against their opponents, which reflects his adoption of extremist jihadist religious positions. The preacher Musa Al-Qarni was detained in a prison in Saudi Arabia, and he was known to be an opponent of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is now one of the countries most supportive of the transitional government of Ahmed Al-Sharaa. It is noteworthy that Khairu Al-Ali Al-Dawoud published a post in 2023 in which he glorified “commander work,” saying: “The zero announced its new value, so it will not be forgotten. The package of guerrilla work.” This publication reflects his adoption of extremist jihadist ideas and encouragement of suicide and armed operations and engagement in political violence, in line with his previous Salafist and jihadist discourse. During June 2025, Khairu Al-Ali Al-Daoud also published a picture of the Syrian Foreign Minister, Asaad Al-Shaibani, with the Afghan Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, and Afghanistan is ruled by the “Taliban” movement, and commented on it, saying: “The truth was not achieved until years of the monument were stripped from Yusuf’s life! Welcome and welcome.” The content of the post is clear, which reflects his position in support of communicating with extremist Islamic movements internationally, while using language that glorifies what he sees as “the achievement of the truth” after patience or waiting, in line with the discourse of extremism and jihad that he promotes in his other publications. Incitemental and hate speech against the Syrians. There is also a clear fluctuation in Al-Dawoud’s political positions towards the rest of the Syrians, which differ from his views regarding his position in support of the transitional government in Damascus. For example, by reading his publications, the extent of his incitement and sectarian rhetoric appears, while he did not hide his dissatisfaction with the slogan “The blood of a Syrian on a Syrian is forbidden,” and he circulated in more than one publication a hostile speech against the Alawites, despite the presence of a percentage of them in Afrin. He also supported the government military operations that targeted the coast, Suwayda, Achrafieh, Sheikh Maqsoud, and the Kurdish regions in northern and eastern Syria, and went as far as hinting at the possibility of moving the Syrian coast and all of its inhabitants to another place. He does not show real knowledge of Efrîn, nor of its history and social diversity, nor of the Kurdish issue, except superficial circulating narratives that reflect intentional ignorance hidden behind racist and chauvinistic discourse of a religious and nationalist nature. It is clear that Khairo al-Dawoud clearly belongs to the path of “military resolution.” For example, he published a leaflet when the government forces headed to the areas of the Syrian Democratic Forces with a Kurdish majority, saying: “And if you return, we will return. Whoever asked for our war will regret it, and whoever asked for our security will be safe. What land will shelter you, and what path will save you? Hasten to surrender before the hour of regret.” In another post, his incitement was clear against the “Conference of Unity of Components” that was held in northern and eastern Syria, where he wrote: “The Vice Alliance and the Harmful Conference, the counter-revolution in its new form.” These publications demonstrate his tendency toward sectarian, nationalist, and racist incitement, and his encouragement of violence against other Syrian components, which reflects his complete bias towards the path of “military decisiveness” and his lack of support for the option of diversity and the necessity of the participation of all components to manage the country, in addition to supporting many political tracks in Syria, which is needed at all times, both among Syrians and especially among government officials. Following the appointment of Khairo al-Ali al-Dawoud as director of the Afrin region, a number of the region’s residents expressed their objection to the decision, stressing the need to adhere to the principle of equal opportunities and objective standards in filling public positions, and demanding that the appointment be reconsidered based on basic legal and administrative considerations, according to the “Human Rights Organization in Afrin,” yesterday, Thursday. The human rights organization added that the most prominent demands of the people of Afrin from the transitional government in Damascus is commitment to the principle of competence and entitlement to ensure that public positions are held by people with academic qualifications and practical experience appropriate to the nature of the position, in addition to respecting the principle of local participation by enabling the people of the region to manage their affairs and enhancing trust between society and the authorities, in addition to ensuring non-discrimination and adherence to the principles of human rights and national and international standards for preserving social and cultural pluralism. Finally, enhancing transparency in appointment procedures and clarifying the principles and criteria adopted in selecting the candidate. The Human Rights Organization in Afrin indicated in its statement that re-evaluating the decision in accordance with the principles of legality and the rule of law, and adopting clear objective criteria, ensures achieving the public interest and respecting the rights and demands of the local community, and enhances administrative stability and sustainable development in the region.
