The commission said its findings followed multiple verification and analysis procedures conducted in coordination with Syrian authorities, marking a significant development in one of the country’s most prominent unresolved disappearance cases.

Al-Abbasi, her husband Abdul Rahman Yasin, and their six children, who were between three and 15 years old at the time, vanished in March 2013 after security forces raided their home in Damascus, according to rights organizations.

Their disappearance became a symbol of the broader issue of missing detainees and forcibly disappeared civilians during Assad’s rule.”We have reached reliable and corroborating results that allow us to conclude with a high degree of professional certainty that Dr. Rania Al-Abbasi’s children are deceased,” the commission said in a statement.

It added that efforts to locate the children’s remains were continuing.The commission was established by Syria’s new authorities in May 2025 to investigate cases involving missing and forcibly disappeared persons following Assad’s ouster in 2024.Hassan Al-Abbasi, Rania’s brother, confirmed the children’s deaths in a video posted on Facebook.

He said family members had viewed video recordings linked to a suspect accused of involvement in a 2013 massacre in a Damascus district.According to Hassan Al-Abbasi, one recording showed children being accused of financing terrorism.

He said the children in the footage were identified as members of the Al-Abbasi family.The fate of Rania Al-Abbasi and her husband remains officially unresolved. Contact with both was lost after their arrest, and while rights groups and media reports have suggested they may have died, no official confirmation or recovery of their remains has been reported.

The case underscores the scale of Syria’s missing persons crisis, which includes detainees who disappeared in government prisons, civilians who went missing during years of conflict, and individuals who vanished at checkpoints or while fleeing violence.The Syrian conflict began in 2011 after a government crackdown on anti-government protests and evolved into a prolonged civil war.

Tens of thousands of people were detained or disappeared during the conflict.The commission said last year that the number of people who went missing over decades of Assad family rule could exceed 300,000.

State news agency SANA reported that former Homs governor Abdul Rahman Badreddine Al-Aama was appointed secretary-general of the Syrian presidency, replacing Maher Al-Sharaa, the president’s brother.The reshuffle also included the replacement of Information Minister Hamza Almustafa and Agriculture Minister Amjad Badr.

Khaled Fawaz Zaarour, previously head of the media faculty at Damascus University, was named information minister, while Bassel Hafez Al-Sweidan took over the agriculture portfolio.No official explanation was provided for the changes.

The appointments mark one of the most notable adjustments to Syria’s transitional government since it was formed in March 2025 following the 2024 ouster of longtime ruler Bashar Assad. The interim administration has largely been composed of figures considered close to Sharaa and his political network.

Alongside cabinet-level changes, Sharaa appointed new provincial governors for several regions, including Homs, Quneitra, Latakia and Deir Ezzor, according to SANA.

The personnel changes come as Syria’s transitional authorities continue efforts to restructure state institutions after years of civil conflict, economic collapse and political fragmentation that intensified following Assad’s removal from power.

The Interior Ministry said the group had been planning operations aimed at undermining security and stability in Homs, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), as the government intensifies efforts to reassert control across the country following the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad’s government in 2024.

Security forces confiscated anti-tank missile launchers, sniper rifles, automatic weapons, RPG launchers and large quantities of ammunition during the operation, the ministry said.

It described the raid as part of broader efforts to track and dismantle sleeper cells and eliminate what it called the remaining sources of terrorism across Syrian territory.Authorities did not identify the group involved or specify whether it had links to Daesh or other militant organizations still active in parts of Syria.

Syria has faced recurring security threats since the collapse of the Assad regime, with attacks targeting both domestic security forces and foreign military personnel operating in the country.In December, an attack on a joint patrol near Palmyra in Homs province killed two U.S. soldiers and a civilian interpreter, while injuring three U.S. service members and two Syrian security personnel.

The incident underscored continuing instability in central Syria, where remnants of militant networks continue to operate despite years of military campaigns against insurgent groups.In November, Syria became the 90th member of the Global Coalition against Daesh, the international alliance formed in 2014 to combat the militant group after it seized large parts of Syria and northern Iraq.

Although Daesh no longer controls major territory, security officials and international observers continue to warn that the group retains the capacity to conduct insurgent attacks, particularly in remote desert areas and regions with weakened state control.

The latest operation in Homs reflects Damascus’ effort to project authority and reassure both domestic and international partners that it can contain militant threats as the country navigates a fragile post-Assad transition.