It is mistaken to think that the incident that took place in al-Suqaylabiyah in Hama last Friday evening is a local event isolated from the broader Syrian context, or from a wider regional context. It is even more mistaken to treat it as a passing or “individual” incident with nothing behind it and nothing to follow.
Today, Sunday, March 22, marks the 23rd day of the “Israeli”/American war against Iran, which began as a blitzkrieg aimed at destroying Iran and its regime, ultimately leading to the fragmentation of Iran as part of the “Greater Israel project”. It has since turned into a war of attrition, quicksand, and a dangerous quagmire in which the aggressor powers—and with them the entire global economy—are sinking.
Kassioun’s last editorial pointed to the necessity of dealing with the accumulated and emerging conditions that define the current Syrian situation—domestically, regionally, and internationally—through urgent and emergency measures. This comes as various crises intensify and risk erupting, amid an ongoing war whose end is unclear. What is clear, however, is that its consequences will be significant for the world, the region, and implicitly our country, regardless of the outcomes or the timeframe in which it ends.
Our region is experiencing a state of severe turmoil at various levels, amid the “Israeli”-American war against Iran. It faces open-ended possibilities, all of which share one common element: the scale of dangers and crises for our country is growing and intensifying significantly—especially with the open “Israeli” discourse about working to make Syria the first example of implementing “Greater Israel”, by dividing it, destroying it, and turning it into “warring tribes and clans” enslaved by Zionism.
In a new statement marked by unparalleled brazenness and arrogance, during a press conference at the White House last Friday, February 20, Trump said about Syria’s interim president: “I’m essentially the one who put him there!”
Over the past few days, a number of significant US moves concerning the Syrian situation have taken place. These moves are naturally linked to Syria’s internal dynamics, but even more so to the broader, rapidly evolving regional developments—including major contradictions within the American and Western elite regarding war on Iran: between continued military mobilization on one hand, and negotiations and talk of a possible agreement on the other, which has even reached the point of announcing the possibility of a meeting between Trump and Khamenei.
Our region as a whole is living in a state of anticipation over the possibility of a new American–“Israeli” war against Iran, because such a war would inevitably affect all the countries and peoples of the region, whatever its outcomes might be.
Syrians are gradually emerging from the state of shock caused by the new electricity bills, and are beginning to express—through various and escalating forms—their intense dissatisfaction and rejection of the astronomical increase in electricity prices. One of the most prominent expressions has been boycotting paying electricity bills, summed up by the phrase “I won’t pay”. Yet, a closer look at the Syrian reality offers another phrase that is even more expressive: “Even if I wanted to, I don’t have the money to pay”.
The new electricity bills have reached Syrian households, igniting what little patience people had left. Silent complaints have turned into open anger at the logic of unjust collection from the pockets of ordinary people—some of whom stated plainly, “I won’t pay!” Those who did pay did so with an overwhelming sense of betrayal by a government that was supposed to put an end to the economic policies of the Assad regime that impoverished and starved Syrians.
Decree No. 13, issued last Friday, 16 January 2026, concerning the Kurdish issue in Syria—in parallel with practical agreements on the ground between the government and the SDF—has created a positive atmosphere in a country starving for an end to bloodshed and for consensus among Syrians instead of fighting.
