On December 27, 2025, Syrian Interim Government forces detained two university students from the University of Aleppo as they were returning home from classes, taking them to unknown location.

The students – Bankin Abboud and Ahmad Walid Omar – both studied at the university’s Faculty of Civil Engineering. Omar was released after 24 hours; Abboud was held for several hours longer and then released. The students were detained together at a checkpoint, where students traveling to university are commonly subjected to searches of their belongings. It was not clear why they were detained.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about the disappearance of higher education students. State authorities should take all reasonable steps to ensure the safety of scholars, students, and staff, including by investigating and holding perpetrators of such acts responsible, in line with international human rights standards. In addition to the harm to the immediate victim, kidnappings that target members of the higher education community undermine the conditions needed for the meaningful exercise of the right to education and academic freedom.

Sources:
https://www.syriahr.com/en/375608/
https://hawarnews.com/en/transitional-govt-factions-kidnap-two-young-men-from-sheikh-maqsoud-ashrafieh
https://hawarnews.com/en/student-bankin-aboud-freed-after-abduction-in-aleppo