Fact Check: The Truth Behind the Video of the Assault on a Man in Front of His Child

This article was translated using artificial intelligence. The original language is Arabic.

Recently, accounts and pages across social media platforms, Facebook and X, circulated a video claiming to document an assault on a civilian in front of his child in the village of Al-Tah, allegedly because he belongs to the Alawite sect.

The claims added that the assaulted person is neither a government employee nor a former military member, and that the assault occurred solely because of his Alawite sect affiliation.

Doubts and Counter-Narrative

Later, other users questioned the authenticity of the video, with some suggesting it was old, dating back to the rule of Bashar al-Assad's regime, and that the victim was a Syrian citizen being assaulted by one of Assad's loyalists.

Refute the claim

After communicating with civilians from the village of Al-Tah, the "Verify-sy" team was able to identify both the assailant and the victim, confirming that the incident in the video took place just a few days ago.

According to the information gathered by the team, the assailant, named Abdul Salam, is a member of the village who had fled during the previous regime and returned after the fall of Assad. The victim, a former government employee under the regime, was reportedly involved in militia activities, looting, and theft during the forced displacement of the village's residents due to their opposition to the ousted regime.

Testimonies from residents of the village of Al-Tah reveal that the victim belongs to the Arnous family and is related to "Hussein Arnous," the Syrian Prime Minister from June 2020 to September 2024. The victim was reportedly managing a group of militias that carried out thefts and exploited the properties and lands of displaced civilians over a decade.

While searching open sources for Abdul Salam's name and title (which the "Verify-sy" team prefers not to disclose), the team found multiple videos and interviews conducted with him previously, confirming his identity. It also emerged that he had long served as the director of the Al-Tah camp near the town of Maaret Misrin.

The "Verify-sy" team emphasizes that the goal of publishing this material is not to exonerate one party at the expense of another. The platform condemns the individual behavior that took place in front of the victim's child and calls for the involvement of the relevant authorities and the official documentation of testimonies. The purpose of preparing this material is to clarify the truth and refute the claims that the victim belongs to the Alawite sect, which are intended to stir sectarian strife among Syrians.