Radio Free Syria

Syrian digital payment platform Sham Cash has revealed that it's preparing for a major expansion of its services, with plans to deepen integration with banks, businesses and government institutions as electronic payments gain momentum across the country. The company's Marketing and Public Relations Director, Mohammad Bseiki told Al-Ikhbariya news agency that the platform has recorded steady growth in bill payments since the beginning of 2026 and is technically ready to expand its services to both public and private sector institutions. Bseiki explained that Sham Cash's infrastructure is capable of supporting wider electronic payment services and that the company is ready to cooperate with any institutions interested in joining its network, with the aim of simplifying daily transactions and reducing reliance on cash. He said usage had increased significantly since the start of the year, attributing the growth to the app's ease of use, faster transactions and the increasing number of services available. According to Al-Ikhbariya, Sham Cash currently supports payments for passports, higher education services, university admissions, the Syrian Virtual University, telecommunications services, and Hajj and Umrah-related transactions. Additional services are expected to be added as coordination with government agencies and other institutions progresses. Bseiki said the company has already begun accepting API integration requests from businesses and digital platforms, allowing merchants and applications to connect directly to the electronic payment system and expand digital services. One of the most anticipated developments is direct integration with Syria's banking sector. Bseiki revealed that Sham Cash is conducting technical and administrative coordination with several banks to enable users to transfer funds directly between their digital wallets and bank accounts without relying on cash transactions. The company is also studying future features that would allow balances to be converted between the Syrian pound and foreign currencies, although no timeline has yet been announced. Addressing security concerns, Bseiki told Al-Ikhbariya that no breaches of the platform's systems have been recorded since its launch and that no users have lost funds because of technical failures. He said reported cases of financial loss had resulted from external fraud and scams rather than vulnerabilities within the system itself. He stressed that Sham Cash's development strategy for 2026 rests on three pillars: expanding the network of businesses and institutions connected to the platform, introducing new financial and government services, and strengthening public confidence through high standards of security and transparency. As Syria's digital economy continues to evolve, the company says it hopes electronic payments will become an increasingly common part of everyday life, reducing dependence on cash and making financial transactions faster and more convenient for citizens. https://radiofreesyria.com/sham-cash-announces-expansion-plans-as-electronic-payments-continue-to-grow/

Abyat Hills, a new housing project realized through a Saudi Arabia-Syria partnership, has officially launched in the Qudsaya suburb of rural Damascus. The project is a joint venture between Abyat Saudi Arabia and the Syrian General Housing Authority. Location: Qudsaya suburb, E3 area, rural Damascus Scale: 380,000 square meters, capacity of over 2,000 housing units Standards: Units will be constructed according to modern construction and planning specifications Timeline: Full implementation will be completed within a 4-year period This launch demonstrates the increasing investment by Gulf countries in Syria's reconstruction and urban expansion efforts; Qudsaya E3 is positioned as a key development area to meet the housing demand around the capital. The groundbreaking ceremony last week in Abyat Hills, Qudsaya, was more than just a ribbon-cutting ceremony but a geopolitical statement poured into concrete. For the first time since the Syrian war devastated its cities, Saudi Arabia is investing billions of dollars in housing in Syria. The $6.4 billion package announced in Damascus (with $2.93 billion allocated to real estate and infrastructure) signals Riyadh's transformation from a regional rival to a patron of reconstruction. Abyat Hills, with 2,000 homes on a 380,000 m² area, is the pilot project of this transformation. Diplomacy through development After the fall of Assad and the lifting of US sanctions in December 2024, Saudi Arabia supported President Ahmed al-Sharaa. These deals are a "political boost" for a fragile government still grappling with sectarian conflict in Suwayda. Housing is the quickest way to put state legitimacy on the map – literally. If Riyadh can help stabilize daily life, it buys an impact that airstrikes could never achieve. Economy disguised as Arab solidarityThe UN has estimated $250-400 billion for Syria's reconstruction. This isn't charity; it's market entry. Syrian officials say Saudi deals alone promise 50,000 direct and 150,000 indirect jobs. For Saudi firms like Abyat, it means a first-mover advantage in the housing gap. For Vision 2030, it means "strengthening Arab economic integration" with contracts in cement, smart cities, and tourism. Saudi commentators are talking about exporting "Diriyah gigaproject expertise" to Aleppo and Damascus for shaping Syria's urban future according to Riyadh's image. State media describes it as a "turning point for the displaced." Commentators are questioning who will actually get the keys, how much it will cost, and whether this is reconstruction or real estate speculation. After 13 years of war, "modern standards" become meaningless if the math doesn't add up for families earning in pounds. Saudi Arabia is not doing Syria a favor. It is playing geopolitically hard. This is not a cynical approach; this is how post-conflict economies are rebuilt. The question is: Will Abyat Hills be a model of inclusive recovery, or a veiled preview of who will profit from peace? If Riyadh wants this to be a lasting legacy, not just a leverage point, the next announcement shouldn't be about square meters. It should be about mortgage terms. https://radiofreesyria.com/saudi-arabia-syria-housing-partnership-launches-abyat-hills-project-in-damascus-countryside/

At least 20 people were killed and eight others wounded in Israeli air strikes across southern and eastern Lebanon on Saturday, according to Lebanon's National News Agency and the Lebanese army. Among those killed were two residents of the town of Harouf, one of them a woman, while three paramedics from the Risala Association were wounded in a second 'double-tap' drone strike while attempting to reach the scene of one of the airstrikes to rescue survivors. Four people were killed and another wounded in an Israeli strike on the town of Jouaiya in the Tyre district, where civil defence teams continued searching through the rubble for missing persons, with another man killed when a drone struck a motorcycle on the town's Abbasiyeh road. Meanwhile, three young men were killed in separate strikes on Arab Salim, Zefta and Habboush in the Nabatieh district. The Lebanese army announced that two officers and one soldier were killed in an Israeli strike on the Khardali–Kfartebnit road in Nabatieh district. Further south, six people were killed and four wounded in what Lebanese media described as an initial toll from an Israeli strike on the town of Saksakiyeh near Sidon. In eastern Lebanon's Western Bekaa district, one person was killed in a separate drone strike targeting a motorcycle. The latest attacks come amid continuing Israeli strikes despite a fragile ceasefire that took effect on 17 April and has since been extended until early July. According to Lebanon's Health Ministry, the death toll from Israeli attacks since 2 March has risen to 3,593, with a further 10,990 people wounded. https://radiofreesyria.com/20-killed-in-israeli-strikes-across-southern-and-eastern-lebanon/

Bashar al-Assad family applied for permanent residency in Abu Dhabi, but this request was rejected by the UAE, according to several Arab media outlets citing the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth on June 6, 2026. Emirati security officials allegedly told the family that this move posed a "real danger" and that they would become "easy targets for assassination." According to reports, Bashar al-Assad's daughter, Zein, also dropped out of her studies at the Sorbonne University in Abu Dhabi following student protests and the revelation of her identity. She later transferred to the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, graduating last year with a bachelor's degree. The United Arab Emirates has not issued an official statement regarding the reported request. Other news from 2025 states that Assad was hospitalized in Moscow in September and later discharged, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia granted Assad and his family asylum on humanitarian grounds. Assad has been living in exile in Moscow since December 2024. Russian media outlets reported in October 2025 that he was living in a luxury apartment, possibly in the Rublyovka district, under the protection of President Vladimir Putin. Putin banned journalists from entering the compound where Assad resides, and no photographs emerged. https://radiofreesyria.com/assad-familys-application-for-residency-in-the-united-arab-emirates-rejected/

Israeli occupation forces carried out two incursions into southern Quneitra countryside on Saturday, raiding homes and arresting a civilian before taking him into the occupied Syrian Golan. Syria's state news agency SANA reported that four Israeli military vehicles entered the Abu Madhra'a farm area west of the village of Sayda al-Golan shortly after midnight. Soldiers raided a house and detained one resident, whose identity was not disclosed, with the occupation forces, as ever, giving no reason for his arrest. In a separate incident later in the morning, another Israeli convoy consisting of four military vehicles entered the village of al-Asha in southern Quneitra countryside, with the occupation troops searching several civilian homes before withdrawing from the area. The incursions came just days after another Israeli convoy reportedly entered the Ain al-Qadi farm area in southern Quneitra countryside, where troops searched several houses before leaving. Israeli military operations in southern Syria have continued in recent months, with Israel repeatedly violating the 1974 Disengagement Agreement through incursions, arrests, land bulldozing, spraying food crops with pesticides, and launching attacks on civilian areas. https://radiofreesyria.com/israeli-forces-raid-homes-in-rural-southern-quneitra-arrest-civilian/

The Syrian Ministry of Interior has announced that the security branch building formerly known as the "Palestine Branch" in Damascus will be renamed the "Special Tasks Department," describing the move as part of efforts to reform state institutions following the collapse of the Assad regime. In an official statement, the ministry said the decision aims to close a chapter associated with arbitrary detention, torture, enforced disappearance, and other serious human rights violations. "The use of the name Palestine was exploited over past decades to conceal security practices that had no connection to the Palestinian cause," the ministry said, adding that the change is intended to separate state institutions from the legacy of the former security apparatus and prevent national causes from being used to justify abuses. The announcement has also revived discussion of one of the central contradictions of the Assad regime's decades-long "resistance" narrative. For years, the Assad regime portrayed itself as a champion of the Palestinian cause and a pillar of the so-called "Axis of Resistance." Yet one of the most feared branches of its security apparatus carried the name "Palestine" while becoming synonymous with torture, arbitrary detention, and enforced disappearance. Far from honouring Palestine, critics argue, the branch transformed one of the Arab world's most widely supported causes into a byword for fear. Established in the 1960s under the Military Intelligence Directorate, the Palestine Branch was originally tasked with monitoring Palestinian political and military activities in Syria and abroad. Over time, however, its powers expanded far beyond that mandate. The branch became notorious for pursuing Syrian and Palestinian dissidents, political activists, journalists, and ordinary civilians. Former detainees and human rights organisations repeatedly identified it as one of the regime's most feared detention centres. Its name appeared in countless testimonies documenting torture, ill-treatment, arbitrary arrest, and enforced disappearance. Following the outbreak of the Syrian revolution in 2011, reports from survivors and families of detainees further cemented its reputation as a symbol of state repression. The choice of name itself increasingly came to be seen as an insult to the very cause the regime claimed to champion. While Syrian state media regularly invoked Palestine and resistance to Israel as sources of political legitimacy, Palestinians themselves were among the victims of the regime's detention system. Hundreds of Syrian Palestinians disappeared into prisons and detention centres over the decades, while Palestinian refugee communities faced surveillance, repression, and, during the conflict, devastating military assaults. Many Syrians point in particular to the destruction of Yarmouk Camp and the detention and disappearance of Palestinian activists as evidence that the regime's treatment of Palestinians often stood in stark contrast to its public rhetoric. For that reason, the Ministry of Interior's statement appears to acknowledge a reality long noted by former detainees and human rights advocates: that the name "Palestine" was used not to serve the Palestinian cause, but to provide political cover for an institution that had become notorious for abuses against Syrians and Palestinians alike. The decision comes amid growing debate over security sector reform, accountability for past violations, and efforts to uncover the fate of tens of thousands of detainees and forcibly disappeared persons. For many families, however, changing the name of the branch is only a first step. Questions remain about accountability for those responsible for abuses committed there and the fate of the countless Syrians and Palestinians who entered its cells and never returned. https://radiofreesyria.com/infamous-palestine-branch-renamed-as-syrian-govt-reforms-state-institutions/

When Sweden opened its doors to more than 160,000 Syrian refugees during the 2015-2016 crisis, the aim was humanitarian aid, but a decade later, an investigation by Swedish Radio revealed an unwanted consequence; former members of Bashar al-Assad's army, intelligence services, and militias now carry Swedish passports – some even working in kindergartens and employment programs. “We are ready to provide Sweden and other European countries with access to the necessary documents, witnesses, crime scenes, and other information to prosecute those who committed crimes in Syria.” — Nour al-Din al-Baba, spokesperson for the Syrian Ministry of the Interior Former Assad regime loyalists entered Sweden among the waves of refugees, many claiming to be fleeing violence without disclosing their roles in the Assad regime. At the time, the Swedish Immigration Agency did not have access to Syrian security archives to verify their backgrounds. Swedish law allows for citizenship after a residency period of 4-5 years. There is no automatic ban for former foreign soldiers unless there is evidence of war crimes. 55-year-old Mahmoud Sudan obtained citizenship this way in 2017. Swedish Radio's Kaliber program identified at least 15 people living in Sweden with links to Assad's security apparatus. One individual, convicted of kidnapping and extortion in Syria, was working at a kindergarten in Sweden before his arrest. In May 2026, a Swedish court sentenced Mahmoud Sudan to life imprisonment for atrocities committed at the Yarmouk refugee camp between 2012 and 2013. Prosecutors proved his participation in the attack on a peaceful demonstration in July 2012 that resulted in the deaths of 10 civilians, that he managed the infamous "death gate" checkpoint, and that he oversaw arrests, torture, and executions. Seven years after receiving citizenship, he was arrested in Umeå in 2024. Immigration Minister Johan Forsell: These cases highlight "weaknesses in Sweden's citizenship assessment process." Assad was still in power during the initial review – there was no access to regime archives. Over 160,000 applications disrupted the system, and the war crimes investigation initially focused on ISIS, not regime forces. Today, Syrian government says that Assad-era security and military archives remain "largely intact" and offers full access to European researchers; Damascus is also compiling a list of around 1,000 wanted former officers. https://radiofreesyria.com/from-damascus-to-stockholm-how-assads-men-became-swedes/

When a global brand signs a deal, it buys more than just market share but also buys the reputation of its partner. News of a memorandum of understanding MOU signed between OPPO and ITSAL, a communications company linked to sanctioned Syrian businessman Mohammed Hamsho, raises a simple moral question; Should a consumer technology leader help normalize the reputation of a war profiteer? Hamsho has been under US, EU, and UK sanctions since 2011 for funding and supporting the Assad regime during a war that has killed hundreds of thousands of civilians. The sanctions characterize him as a significant economic backer and the money flowing through his network has powered a war machine. This isn't a distant political debate but a fact on record. OPPO built its brand on youth, innovation, and boundless creativity and its phones are in the hands of students in Cairo, gamers in Jakarta, and entrepreneurs in Kuala Lumpur. These customers aren't just buying hardware, they're buying trust and partnering with an entity linked to Hamsho demonstrates that profit over principle. Legal teams may argue about actual ownership and secondary sanctions but ethics don't hide behind shell companies. If ITSAL is influenced, funded, or controlled by Hamsho, OPPO is legitimizing someone the international community has isolated for wartime exploitation and no patent agreement or market access is worth this trade-off. The right course of action is clear and OPPO should suspend the memorandum of understanding, audit ITSAL's ownership, and make its findings public. Establishing a policy prohibiting deals with sanctioned war profiteers and their proxies is a must and consumers recognize that brands should put ethical values ​​before interests. OPPO tells people to "Inspire the Future." Inspiring the future means refusing to do business with those who profit by looking at a country in ruins. Sanctioned war profiteers don't disappear. They reappear as relatives, shell companies, and "local partners." And yet, numerous global companies sign these contracts. The excuse is always the same: "Legal." If the sanctioned owner owns 49% instead of 50%, compliance justifies it. If the money flows through a third country, the bank approves it. But legality is not morality. Sanctions are imposed after atrocities. A proxy doesn't erase the crime; it whitewashes it. When a technology brand or telecommunications company strikes a deal with a war financier's shell company, it trades its reputation for revenue. https://radiofreesyria.com/oppo-should-sever-ties-with-itsal-linked-to-sanctioned-war-profiteer-mohammed-hamsho/

Syria's interim government has been praised by the United Nations and international inspectors after cooperating in the discovery of a significant cache of chemical weapons which had been undeclared and hidden by the deposed regime, including rockets of the same type used in the notorious 2013 Ghouta chemical attack. Briefing the UN Security Council on Thursday, UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu said Syria's new government had worked closely with inspectors from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), granting access to sites and documentation that helped uncover long-hidden elements of the country's chemical weapons programme. "Their discovery was made possible by OPCW's unflagging efforts, the new Syrian Government's compliance with international law and the Council's continued advocacy," Nakamitsu said. The OPCW team, which visited Syria in May, discovered what Nakamitsu described as a "significant amount" of undeclared chemical weapons, related materials and documentation, including evidence of previously undeclared chemical munitions. Among the findings were rockets of the same type used in the August 2013 chemical attack on Ghouta, one of the deadliest chemical weapons attacks of the Syrian conflict. "These findings are a momentous discovery — not just for Syria, but for international security and the global disarmament regime," Nakamitsu told the Council, describing the breakthrough as "a critical opportunity for the global disarmament and non-proliferation regime". The discoveries reinforce long-standing concerns that declarations submitted by the regime of former dictator Bashar al-Assad were incomplete. Since 2014, the OPCW had been unable to verify that Syria's chemical weapons declaration was "accurate and complete", Nakamitsu noted. That declaration was submitted by Assad's regime after Syria joined the Chemical Weapons Convention in 2013. While the newly discovered weapons were described as previously undeclared, international officials also acknowledged that the breakthrough depended on access and cooperation that had not previously been available. Syria's representative to the United Nations, Ibrahim Olabi, revealed that his government had facilitated 32 OPCW visits to suspected chemical weapons sites and provided more than 60,000 pages of documents. He described the discoveries as a "decisive turning point" and a "major leap forward in delivering accountability". "Syria suffered from chemical weapons for more than 12 years," he told the Council. "Today, it is committed to rid itself of its legacy." Several Security Council members welcomed the progress. The United Kingdom said the discoveries provided "further proof of Assad's attempt to actively deceive the international community", while the United States praised the "shared commitment and determination" demonstrated by Syria's government and the OPCW. France said the discoveries were "only just beginning to reveal the extent of the programme hidden from the international community", suggesting that further undeclared materials may still remain to be uncovered. Türkiye described the findings as a "stark reminder of the scale of repression and suffering inflicted on the Syrian people by the former regime" and argued that Syria's rights under the Chemical Weapons Convention should be restored after being suspended in 2021. Russia, predictably, questioned the OPCW's conclusions. Its representative accused the organisation of moving too quickly to assign blame and said its findings should be examined in a "depoliticised manner". He argued that the OPCW had "long ago compromised itself" and urged countries celebrating the discovery to "cool their ardour". The comments echoed years of Russian support for the Assad regime and Moscow's repeated challenges to international investigations into chemical weapons attacks during the Syrian conflict. The newly discovered materials must now be formally declared and destroyed under OPCW supervision, while further inspections are expected at additional sites across Syria. https://radiofreesyria.com/major-leap-forward-in-accountability-hidden-assad-chemical-weapons-uncovered/

For 13 years, Syrian airspace was a scar on aviation maps. A no-fly zone avoided by pilots, blacklisted by insurers, and cited by diplomats as proof of a failing state. Then missiles flew between Tehran and Tel Aviv, and suddenly the tables turned. In May, 11,801 commercial flights passed over Syria – a 375% increase from a year earlier. The same skies that airlines considered very dangerous in 2023 are now a "less dangerous" option in 2026. This isn't normalization but prioritization.Every airline that flies over Aleppo instead of Baghdad pays a flight fee to Damascus. At around $200 per transit, Syria earned over $2 million in May alone. For a government that has broken away from SWIFT, been subjected to sanctions to the fullest extent, and is in the process of rebuilding after a civil war, this is like oxygen, not pocket money. But let's not romanticize it. Syria isn't regaining confidence; it's leasing its airspace because every alternative is under fire. As soon as Iranian skies reopen, those 11,801 flights will disappear faster than they appeared. Damascus knows this. The airlines know this. The only ones claiming this is a turnaround are the ones cashing the checks. EASA's conflict zone warnings for Syria never went away. The FAA still prohibits US airlines from flying below FL260. Insurers are paying war risk premiums to keep routes alive. A stray missile, a misidentified radar signal, could pull us away from another MH17. Yet boards of directors approve because the alternative is to fly 600 miles further around a hot war zone. Here's the real story: the global aviation system now assesses danger on a curve. "Safe" no longer means safe. It means "safer than where drone strikes are currently taking place." In the short term, Damascus gains cash and a degree of importance. In the long term, however, nothing changes unless airlines can guarantee what they're actually buying: predictability. Stable air traffic control. No unexpected SAM missile strikes. Real compliance with ICAO standards. Flight fees are not a strategy, but an unexpected source of income. The Middle East conflict redrew the map in a month. It could redraw it again tomorrow. Syria's gain today is proof of how degraded the region's airspace has become. Because if your business model depends on your neighbors being at war, you don't have a business model. You have a ceasefire clause. https://radiofreesyria.com/the-dark-irony-of-the-skies-how-the-war-in-a-neighboring-country-made-syria-a-safer-option/

ANKARA — The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has charged former MIT agent Önder Siğircik Oğlu with espionage and the kidnapping of two Free Syrian Army commanders in 2011. Siğircik Oğlu was apprehended by MIT on the Syrian-Lebanese border and transferred to Türkiye. Prosecutors allege he planned the kidnapping of Lieutenant Colonel Hüseyin Harmush and Major Mustafa Kasım, whom he knew from previous intelligence work, and handed them over to the Assad regime. Sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2012, Siğircik Oğlu escaped in 2014 with a 10-hour travel permit. According to the indictment, he subsequently lived under Assad's protection, passed MIT secrets to Syrian and Russian intelligence, and spread anti-Turkish propaganda. The individual, who fled to Lebanon after the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, then to Russia, and later returned to Lebanon, was arrested there by the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MİT). Prosecutors are seeking a life sentence plus 35 years in prison on charges of "obtaining state secrets for the purpose of political espionage" and "disclosing state security secrets with espionage intent." https://radiofreesyria.com/former-mit-agent-charged-with-kidnapping-of-free-syrian-army-commanders-faces-life-imprisonment/

Russia's children's rights commissioner has proposed reviving Soviet-era child labour camps and lowering the legal working age for young people, arguing that children as young as 12 should be able to work at these camps during their summer holidays as the country struggles with a severe labour shortage. Olga Yaroslavskaya made the remarks during a discussion on child safety, claiming that "almost all" teenagers want summer jobs and suggesting that Soviet-style child labour camps could provide both employment and structure for young people. "It seems to me that the return of labour camps is a realistic scenario that our children will support," she told the radio station Govorit Moskva. The comments are notable because they come from Russia's official children's rights commissioner, whose role is to protect children's welfare and interests. Russian law currently allows children to work from the age of 14 with parental consent, while 15-year-olds can independently sign employment contracts. Yaroslavskaya argued that federal labour legislation should be changed to allow younger teenagers to take on part-time work during school holidays. "When we talk to teenagers aged 12 and over, they all want to work in the summer, almost all of them," she said. The commissioner cited her own experience in a Soviet youth labour camp as a positive example. "In the 7th grade, we were taken to weed tomatoes in 40-degree heat in a barrack in the middle of the fields. We survived, and moreover, I brought home 120 rubles," she said. The proposal comes as Russia faces an increasingly severe demographic and labour crisis. Economists have warned that labour shortages are becoming one of the biggest constraints on economic growth, with businesses struggling to recruit workers and wages rising sharply in response. The shortage has been driven by a combination of factors, including record-low birth rates, the emigration of hundreds of thousands of working-age Russians since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and heavy military casualties. According to estimates cited by Bloomberg, Russia requires around 1.5 million additional workers to balance its labour market, while business groups have projected a deficit of up to three million workers by 2030. At the same time, Russian authorities continue to expand patriotic education programmes aimed at children and teenagers. This week, the education ministry unveiled a summer reading list featuring books celebrating Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine and promoting what officials described as a "patriotic orientation". The proposals highlight the extent of the labour pressures facing Russia as the war in Ukraine enters its fifth year, with officials increasingly searching for ways to compensate for a shrinking workforce. https://radiofreesyria.com/russian-childrens-rights-commissioner-proposes-reviving-soviet-era-child-labour-camps/

Seven Syrian girls who have spent their lives in exile have left a refugee camp in Jordan for the first time to compete in an international taekwondo tournament in Rome. The young athletes, all residents of the Azraq refugee camp in northern Jordan, are taking part in the Kim and Liù tournament, a competition for children aged between six and eleven held alongside the World Taekwondo Roma Grand Prix from June 5 to 7. For the girls, the trip marks their first experience beyond the camp that has been home since birth or early childhood. Established in 2014 to accommodate Syrians displaced by the war, Azraq currently hosts around 60,000 refugees. The athletes travelled to Italy through the Taekwondo Humanitarian Centre project, which has operated in the camp since 2016 under the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation with support from World Taekwondo. They were welcomed in Rome this week, where they attended a press conference for the tournament and met Pope Leo XIV ahead of the competition. Angelo Cito, president of the Italian Taekwondo Federation and founder of the Italian branch of the humanitarian foundation, said the initiative reflected the values of sport and solidarity. “Our doors are open to all athletes escaping from war zones,” he said. “These are gestures that a federation can make and they are worth more than a million words: they are deeds.” Cito added that the foundation’s mission was to support children living in refugee camps around the world and to ensure they knew “they are not alone.” The Azraq project has trained thousands of Syrian children over the past decade under the guidance of coach Asif Sabah and has produced athletes who have gone on to compete successfully at national and international level. Among them is Yahya Bassam al-Ghotany, who became the first athlete from the camp to be selected for the Refugee Olympic Team and served as a flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. While the seven girls will spend only a week in Italy, their journey represents something larger than a sporting competition. For children who have grown up knowing only life in a refugee camp, the opportunity to travel, compete and meet peers from across Europe offers a glimpse of possibilities beyond exile. The story also serves as a reminder that, more than a decade after millions of Syrians were forced to flee their homes, an entire generation has grown up outside its homeland. Yet for many Syrian refugees, exile was never intended to be permanent. As Syria slowly rebuilds after years of war and dictatorship, many continue to hope that one day they will be able to return home and help shape their country's future. For seven young athletes from Azraq, the road to Rome is an extraordinary achievement in itself. But like countless other Syrians living in exile, their ultimate dream may not be a medal abroad, but the chance to build a life in a free and peaceful Syria. https://radiofreesyria.com/seven-syrian-girls-head-to-rome-to-compete-in-international-taekwondo-tournament/

Students travelling from Suwayda to Damascus to sit their national examinations have reported being subjected to extortion, arbitrary restrictions and favoritism at checkpoints operated by Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri's National Guard militia, according to local sources cited by Suwayda 24. The local news outlet reported that large numbers of students and families were travelling from Suwayda to Damascus and its countryside on Thursday as pupils prepared to sit their basic and secondary education examinations. However, residents told Suwayda 24 that National Guard checkpoints had imposed obstacles on travellers, with allegations that students with personal connections to National Guard leaders were allowed to pass more easily while others faced delays, extortion, travel restrictions, or were prevented from travelling altogether. According to the report, some checkpoints demanded payments from students and their families in exchange for allowing them to continue their journey, while others were denied passage entirely. Local sources also documented cases in which students and young men of a similar age were reportedly ordered off public transport buses at the Um al-Zeitoun checkpoint and prevented from continuing to examination centres in Damascus. The allegations have prompted growing criticism from residents, who say the practices are increasingly reminiscent of the arbitrary checkpoint system and extortion that dominated daily life under the Assad regime. This similarity might be explained by the fact that the leaders and militiamen in the National Guard are mostly former regime personnel. For decades, Syrians travelling between provinces under Assad-era rule were routinely subjected to extortion, favoritism, arbitrary detentions and movement restrictions at the regime's military and security checkpoints by its notorious shabiha networks and security apparatus. The latest complaints add to broader concerns about the conduct of the National Guard, a force aligned with the Israeli-backed Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri and reportedly staffed in part by former military and security officers from the deposed regime. Critics argue that the movement has increasingly adopted methods associated with the former regime, despite presenting itself as a force protecting Suwayda's interests and security. Neither the National Guard nor Sheikh al-Hijri had publicly responded to the allegations at the time of publication. The reports come as students across Syria prepare for national examinations that will play a key role in determining access to higher education and future employment opportunities. https://radiofreesyria.com/students-report-extortion-and-travel-restrictions-at-national-guard-checkpoints-in-suwayda/

Israeli occupation forces carried out a new incursion into southern Syria on Thursday, deploying military vehicles into the Yarmouk Basin area of western rural Daraa governorate as Israeli drones flew overhead, according to local reports. Hauran Free Media reported that an Israeli convoy of four military vehicles entered Syrian territory through the Abu Ghaithar gate and took up positions near the entrance to Wadi al-Raqad, close to the Majham outpost, where they remained stationed at the time of reporting. The incursion coincided with Israeli reconnaissance drones operating over the Wadi al-Raqad area, the report said. According to the outlet's correspondent, the area had previously been sealed off following the collapse of the Assad regime, with barriers and checkpoints established to restrict access. The latest operation is part of an escalating pattern of Israeli military aggression, with occupation forces carrying out near-daily incursions into southern Syria in recent months, particularly in Daraa and Quneitra governorates, alongside air strikes, drone operations, arrests of civilian residents, searches of homes and farms, and the establishment of temporary military positions. Residents and government officials have repeatedly condemned the incursions as violations of Syrian sovereignty, while Israeli forces have continued to expand their presence in areas close to the occupied Syrian Golan. The latest deployment comes amid growing concerns over the frequency of Israeli ground operations inside Syrian territory and the absence of any international response to the repeated violations. https://radiofreesyria.com/israeli-forces-launch-new-incursion-into-daraa/

Visa and Mastercard have resumed operations in Syria after a 15-year absence, marking another step in the country's gradual reintegration into the global economy following the collapse of the Assad regime. The first transactions were processed through Paymera, a payment network established by Syria's Ministry of Telecommunications, according to a report by The Media Line. While the immediate impact is expected to be limited, the return of the two global payment giants is being viewed as a significant signal of renewed international engagement with Syria's financial sector after years of war, sanctions, and isolation. "We see strong long-term potential for Syria to build a modern, digital-first payments ecosystem aligned with global standards, with the opportunity to leapfrog legacy infrastructure," said Leila Serhan, Visa's senior vice president and group country manager for North Africa, the Levant and Pakistan. The move comes amid a broader process of economic and diplomatic re-engagement with Syria, including sanctions relief, increased international investment, the return of commercial air links, and growing cooperation with international financial institutions. For businesses that depend on foreign visitors, the return of international payment systems could eventually make travel and commerce significantly easier. "When card payments become available again, I expect it will make stays more convenient for international guests and help us attract more visitors," said Jihad Baroud, manager of the Beit Zafran Hotel in Old Damascus. Despite the optimism, analysts caution that major obstacles remain before card payments become commonplace across the country. "The first public transaction was only a trial, not a sign that card payments are normal across Syria," said Benjamin Feve, senior research analyst at Karam Shaar Advisory. Feve noted that Syria remains overwhelmingly cash-based, with public trust in banks weakened by years of conflict and economic instability. Limited point-of-sale infrastructure, fluctuating exchange rates, internet disruptions, and frequent power outages also continue to pose challenges. "So yes, Visa and Mastercard can technically operate in Syria, but what's more important is, can Syrian banks, merchants, consumers, and foreign banks use the system confidently?" he said. At the same time, Syria's largely unbanked population presents significant opportunities for future growth. The report estimates that between 80 and 90 percent of Syrians currently lack access to formal banking services, creating potential demand for digital payments, remittances, and other financial products. Although Syria remains on the Financial Action Task Force's gray list and is still designated by the United States as a state sponsor of terrorism, most sanctions imposed on Damascus have been lifted since the collapse of the Assad regime in December 2024. "Even if sanctions are eased, Syria is still far from being able to receive transactions in U.S. dollars or euros," Feve said, noting that many international banks remain cautious about re-entering the Syrian market. Nevertheless, observers say the significance of Visa and Mastercard's return extends beyond the number of transactions currently being processed. While rebuilding Syria's financial infrastructure is likely to take years, the decision by two of the world's largest payment networks to resume operations sends a clear signal that major international financial institutions are increasingly willing to re-engage with the country as it emerges from more than a decade of isolation. https://radiofreesyria.com/visa-and-mastercard-return-to-syria-in-latest-sign-of-economic-reintegration/

Muhammad Hamsho and the business of turning destruction into dividends In Damascus, the skyline tells two stories at once as craters where homes used to be and cranes where high-rises are promised, and in the middle of both stands Muhammad Hamsho — the businessman Syria knows as “The Rubble King.” Hamsho didn’t invent the war economy, but he perfected one corner of it; demolition. While neighborhoods like Qaboun and Basateen al-Razi were leveled under Assad regime orders, his companies moved in with bulldozers cleared what shells left behind, scrappers pulled rebar from the wreckage, and with that same steel, investigators say, was melted down in Hamsho’s factories and sold back to the Assad regime to raise Marota City — a Dubai-style development marketed to foreign investors. This is not reconstruction but a closed loop. The people who lost their homes are priced out of the towers that replace them to refugees watching from camps in Lebanon and Türkiye to see their old streets rebranded as luxury real estate. The message is blunt "post-war Syria will be rebuilt, but not for them." Western governments sanctioned Hamsho in 2011 for “acting for or on behalf of” Bashar and Maher al-Assad and those sanctions were meant to cut off the regime’s financiers. Yet in 2024, Hamsho was walking through Damascus under the new Syrian administration security escort, secure enough to file — then quietly drop — a defamation suit against a critic. The optics are clear that the network held. Supporters call him a "patriot industrialist" man who keeps factories running and workers employed while the country is choked by sanctions and argue that someone has to clear the rubble, that steel has to come from somewhere, that Marota City brings in the hard currency Damascus desperately needs. But that argument sidesteps the core accusation that Hamsho’s fortune was built “through his connections to Assad regime insiders” during a decade when those same insiders were flattening dissident suburbs. If profit flows from demolition to construction, then there is a perverse incentive to keep the cycle going. which makes every block razed is raw material and every displaced family is a new customer for whoever can afford the rebuilt version. Syria’s future can’t be mortgaged to the men who cleared its past with a wrecking ball and donors and regional investors looking at reconstruction should ask a simple question before wiring money to Damascus: "who owns the rubble, and who gets the deed to what replaces it?" https://radiofreesyria.com/the-man-who-built-an-empire-on-syrias-ruins/