Internal Tensions Within the STG Forces. 🇸🇾
On October 22, STG security forces launched an operation—officially targeting ISIS cells—in the city of Rankus, located in the Qalamoun region north of the capital, Damascus.
The operation resulted in the deaths of seven militants and the discovery of the true nature of the operation’s target: a former leader of the al-Nusra Front and members of the 44th Brigade, which was created in 2025 following the reorganization of armed rebel groups into military units.
It is worth noting that Rankus was the site of battles between the SAA and Syrian terrorists in 2014 until its liberation by the Syrian army in April of that year.
In response, a demonstration took place today in Rankus denouncing the deliberate actions of the STG’s security forces and defending the innocence of those detained. Protesters clashed with law enforcement, which struggled to contain the demonstrators.
Under the guise of the “war on terror,” the Syrian Transitional Government is carrying out arrests and eliminations of dissidents within terrorist groups that do not align with the new state Jolani aspires to create. Popular discontent is growing significantly in areas that have traditionally been rebel strongholds but have remained outside the control of HTS/Al-Nusra.

— @Suriyak (@Suriyakmaps) October 23, 2026