Prominent Syrian academic abducted amid rising security concerns

Dr. Rasha Nasser Al-Ali, a renowned Syrian academic, literary critic, and professor of Arabic literature at the University of Homs, was abducted by an armed group on Monday as she travelled from her home in the Misaq Al-Idikhar district to the university in central Homs.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights reported on Wednesday that it has “not yet identified the group responsible for Dr. Al-Ali’s abduction.” The organisation condemned the act and called for the release of all individuals subjected to arbitrary detention and kidnapping.

Dr. Al-Ali, daughter of prominent lawyer and regime opponent Nasser Ahmed Al-Ali, is a leading figure in literary criticism in Syria. After earning her bachelor’s degree in Arabic language from Al-Baath University in 1997, she completed her master’s and doctorate in modern prose at Ain Shams University in Egypt in 2004 and 2009, respectively. Her published works include Cultural Patterns in the Theatre of Saadallah Wannous (2008), The Culture of Patterns in Contemporary Feminist Narratives (2011), and Techniques of Reading Narrative Prose: Pre-Text Analysis (2012), along with research featured in esteemed Arab and international journals.

The abduction has drawn widespread condemnation. The Arab Writers Union issued a statement denouncing the kidnapping and urged authorities to act promptly to ensure her safety. The incident underscores the challenges faced by Syria’s intellectual community amid ongoing instability.

In a related incident, Dr. Qusai Nasser Al-Zeer, a paediatrician and head of the Training and Qualification Committee for the Syrian Board, was abducted on 19 January. Armed men raided his clinic in Mazzah Jabal, Damascus, and took him to an undisclosed location. Dr. Al-Zeer, originally from Tal Al-Durra village in eastern Hama, is a prominent figure in medical training in Syria. No group has claimed responsibility for his abduction.

Separately, Dr. Sultan Al-Salkhadi, a professor at Al-Sham Private University in Damascus, was recently arrested by public security forces following a false bribery accusation by a student. He was released after investigations revealed the claim was baseless. Dr. Al-Salkhadi, who hails from Jassem in northern Daraa, is a former detainee of the deposed Assad regime.

Violence continues to escalate in Syria’s coastal regions. On Wednesday, two members of the Syrian interim government’s Military Operations Administration were killed and three others injured in an armed attack on a military checkpoint in Jableh, Latakia countryside. The victims were identified as “Abu Hussein Jundi” and “Abu Sateef Al-Shaghri.” The attack, carried out by militants affiliated to the former regime, involved small arms and grenades.

In response, the Military Operations Administration deployed reinforcements to the area to pursue the attackers. Security forces have also launched a broader campaign in the western Homs countryside, near the Syrian-Lebanese border, to target arms traffickers, drug dealers, and remnants of the former regime involved in war crimes.

Since the fall of Bashar Al-Assad’s regime on 8 December 2024, remnants of the former regime have conducted sporadic attacks in Tartus, Jableh, and Latakia. These incidents have resulted in the deaths of 20 security personnel and injuries to 20 others.