During July 2026, Rights Monitor Syria documented several cases of disappearances involving women and girls in the governorates of Lattakia, Homs, and Damascus. This comes amidst ongoing ambiguity surrounding the circumstances of these incidents and conflicting information circulated regarding some of them, raising serious concerns over the safety and security of women and girls, and calling for independent and transparent investigations to determine the fate of the missing individuals and ensure their protection.
In Lattakia Governorate, contact was lost with two female students—Shahad Yael Jdeed and Nagham Ayman Jdeed—from the Alawite community and originally from the village of Bustan al-Basha, on July 20, 2026, while they were en route to take their exams at Tishreen University in Lattakia City. According to circulated information, communication with them ceased after they arrived at the vicinity of the university underpass. Their families subsequently received a message from the students’ mobile phones stating that “the two girls have taken the path of guidance,” attributed to an entity named the “Abdul Ilah Team.” Local sources also circulated reports indicating that the students’ families were barred from entering the university when attempting to inquire about their fate.
On July 21, 2026, the two students returned to their home two days after their disappearance, without any official statements issued regarding the circumstances of their disappearance, the party that detained them, or the reasons behind their absence, leaving numerous questions unanswered.
In the same context, media outlets and social media platforms circulated statements by Salafi preacher Ahmed Al-Munjid, in which he spoke of groups operating under names such as “The Guided Alawite Young Men” (Al-Nusayrun Al-Muhtadun) and “The Guided Alawite Young Women” (Al-Nusayriyyat Al-Muhtadiyat). He stated that these groups aim to recruit young women and men from the Alawite community and persuade them to leave their homes under the pretext of “guidance.” He further claimed that a female preacher lured the two students, Shahad and Nagham, before they were returned to their families and the said female preacher was arrested.
In Homs Governorate, 23-year-old I’tidal Fouad Dirgham, belonging to the Alawite community, went missing on the morning of July 25, 2026, after leaving the Al-Abbasiya neighborhood heading toward the Al-Muhajirin neighborhood within Homs City. According to available information, contact with her has been lost since that time, and no information regarding her whereabouts or fate has been ascertained up to the drafting of this report.
Additionally, contact was lost with Ms. Rawaa Saleh Khaddour, known as “Umm Mohsen,” aged 49, since Thursday, July 16, 2026, amid fears by her family that she may have been abducted in Homs City. Ms. Rawaa Saleh Khaddour hails from the village of Hadidah in the Homs countryside and belongs to the Alawite community.
In a separate incident, communication was lost with 24-year-old Samia Munther Nasser since the evening of July 19, 2026, following her disappearance in the Kashkoul area of Damascus. According to available information, Samia is married and a mother of one child; she originates from the village of Baseer in the Houran region, belongs to the Christian faith, and resides in the town of Rabla in the Homs countryside. Reports indicate that she had traveled to Damascus to visit her family before contact with her was completely cut off, with no information available regarding her whereabouts or fate to date.
It is worth noting that on July 8, 2026, the “Syrian Alawite Union in Europe” documented a video testimony of Ms. Walaa Al-Mahmoud, a widow from the Jableh countryside belonging to the Alawite community. In her testimony, she stated that she was subjected to abduction, detention, and sexual assault during a period of captivity lasting over 45 days, accusing a security official in the Jableh area of being behind the violations committed against her.
Rights Monitor Syria considers that the recurrence of disappearances involving women and girls across various regions of Syria, combined with the persistent ambiguity surrounding their circumstances and the lack of sufficient official information, raises serious concerns regarding the right to liberty and security of person. The organization emphasizes the necessity of opening independent and impartial investigations into all cases of disappearance, disclosing the fate of the missing individuals, ensuring the accountability of any entity proven to be involved in violations affecting civilian safety, and taking effective measures to protect women and girls and prevent the recurrence of such incidents.
