Alexander McKeever

This Week in Northern Syria [37.2025] September 24 - 30: al-Shar' at UNGA, Gov't forces close Deir Hafir road, SDF detains dozens in al-Raqqah, and more...

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I’m just relaying what teacher friends have said about the issues with the current classroom size plan under Hochul

It can be challenging to find space for new classrooms in a hundred year old school located in a highly urbanized area

But as a former nyc public school ‘gifted kid’ def get rid of it and make everyone younger than HS attend their local schools

Apparently the major issue with smaller class sizes (which Hochul signed for implementation in 5 years) are a major logistical issue given most our schools can’t just build new classrooms. Classes will have to take over art, computer room etc

This Week in Northern Syria [37.2025] September 24 - 30: al-Shar' at UNGA, Gov't forces close Deir Hafir road, SDF detains dozens in al-Raqqah, and more...

This week's newsletter is free access... check it out and considering becoming a paid subscriber

akmckeever.substack.com/p/this-week-...

Login • Instagram Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.

Mexican friend of mine on the Hio, currently livestreaming on IG

www.instagram.com/carloscopio/

1923 aerial photo of Damascus looking north-south, Umayyad mosque in the center of the frame

x.com/jaretalaassi...

Rumors on pro-gov't social media of an upcoming limited military campaign likely targeting Eastern Aleppo, with the intention of forcing an SDF handover of Raqqah and Deir ez-Zour and a return to the March 10 integration agreement. Follows an uptick in front line clashes in Aleppo and Deir ez-Zour

Eastern Aleppo/Raqqah news:

-Aleppo/Raqqah highway closed off by pro-Govt forces two days
-al-Sharaa met with the four Aleppo-based military Divisions (mostly SNA + some HTS)
-Rumors of troop build up on both sides
-SDF mandatory conscription campaign in Raqqah
-Turkish airstrike vs SDF in Tabqah

A friend’s dad from Roanoke showed me his high school history textbook

Weekend notes On Maskanah: 19th century Ottoman efforts to settle it, its role in the Armenian genocide, and the fate of its sugar factory

A post on Maskanah, a sleepy small town on the banks of the Euphrates currently located close to the Gov't/SDF front lines.

akmckeever.substack.com/p/weekend-no...

Weekend notes On Maskanah: 19th century Ottoman efforts to settle it, its role in the Armenian genocide, and the fate of its sugar factory

A post on Maskanah, a sleepy small town on the banks of the Euphrates currently located close to the Gov't/SDF front lines.

akmckeever.substack.com/p/weekend-no...

Someone needs to put more time in on ethnoguessr, clearly an Afro-Arab

Lmao

It’s unbelievably funny that all of senior US military command is being summoned into the capitol at the same time there may be a government shutdown and the range of possibilities span from Whiskey Kegseth doing an anti-woke TED talk to a Ba'athist purge of the entire command chain.

🚨🎙️

Friends –– David Adler, Anton Jäger and I are restarting our 'Eurotrash' podcast. Our first ep back is actually an important one, with David reporting from the Global Sumud Flotilla currently en route to Gaza, bearing aid and being attacked by drones. Listen in!

www.patreon.com/posts/15-eur...

Map I threw together for this week's newsletter, showing some key sites in recent clashes along the eastern Aleppo front lines btw Gov't and SDF

akmckeever.substack.com/p/this-week-...

You would not believe how loud the crickets are outside my parents’ house in Brooklyn these days… I don’t remember this from childhood

Map I threw together for this week's newsletter, showing some key sites in recent clashes along the eastern Aleppo front lines btw Gov't and SDF

akmckeever.substack.com/p/this-week-...

One thing that's significantly improved with the new gov't is the quality of photos and videos on state media. Cool pics from ongoing SAA firefighting ops in Latakia published by MoD today

t.me/Sy_Defense/1...

This Week in Northern Syria [36.2025] September 17 - 23: President al-Shar' arrives in NYC, rocket attack kills 8 in eastern Aleppo, update on Afrin HLP situation, and more...

This week's newsletter covering:
-al-Shar' and al-Shaibani's UNGA trip to NYC
-Govt/SDF clashes in eastern Aleppo and al-Sheikh Maqsoud
-Seized property reclamation process in Afrin
-US Syria diplomats fired
-PYD 22nd anniversary
-Election date announced

akmckeever.substack.com/p/this-week-...

This Week in Northern Syria [36.2025] September 17 - 23: President al-Shar' arrives in NYC, rocket attack kills 8 in eastern Aleppo, update on Afrin HLP situation, and more...

This week's newsletter covering:
-al-Shar' and al-Shaibani's UNGA trip to NYC
-Govt/SDF clashes in eastern Aleppo and al-Sheikh Maqsoud
-Seized property reclamation process in Afrin
-US Syria diplomats fired
-PYD 22nd anniversary
-Election date announced

akmckeever.substack.com/p/this-week-...

A painting by my deceased uncle Kent of what seems to be a 24-class sloop in dazzle camouflage

“Are you Alawi?” The 51-page report, “‘Are you Alawi?’ Identity-Based Killings During Syria’s Transition,” documents widespread abuses by government forces, government-aligned armed groups, and armed volunteers, inclu...

Joint HRW/Syrians for Truth & Justice/Syrian Archive report I contributed to on the open source side of things, covering the March coastal massacres

www.hrw.org/report/2025/...

good reminder that things are never as simple as tribes vs SDF, Arabs vs Kurds, and that at least some locals joined IS for highly pragmatic reasons, later going on to join the SDF

Ammar al-Hadawi: The Syrian Democratic Force's key asset in rural Deir Ezzor A mercenary, politician, or merely a man wishes the best interest for his people? It is complicated.

Bio of a key SDF-aligned 'Agidat sheikh from al-Shuhail. Bounced around from early opposition to Islamic State to Turkey before returning to Deir ez-Zour in 2023. Exemplary of the constantly fluctuating Deiri tribal politics over the course of the war

shaykhzubayr.substack.com/p/ammar-al-h...

For the public record I put together a thread of the 12 geolocated execution videos filmed during the massacres, as well as 8 others that we were not able to geolocate (at least 4 are potentially geolocatable)
x.com/SYRgeolocati...

“Are you Alawi?” The 51-page report, “‘Are you Alawi?’ Identity-Based Killings During Syria’s Transition,” documents widespread abuses by government forces, government-aligned armed groups, and armed volunteers, inclu...

Joint HRW/Syrians for Truth & Justice/Syrian Archive report I contributed to on the open source side of things, covering the March coastal massacres

www.hrw.org/report/2025/...

(some more confirmed than others)