Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa is currently in the United States, as confirmed by a social media post from Clash Report on September 21st, 2025, at approximately 10:35 AM UTC. This visit occurs as Syrian Government Forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) trade accusations over shelling incidents in eastern Aleppo villages on Saturday evening, September 20th, with alleged civilian casualties. The Syrian Ministry of Defense issued a statement denying involvement in the shelling of Umm Tina and attributing the attacks to Qasd forces. Over the past hour, from 10:35 AM UTC to 12:06 PM UTC, the Ministry of Defense for Syria has categorically denied media reports suggesting the Syrian Arab Army targeted the village of Umm Tina. Conversely, the Ministry asserts that Qasd forces, at 18:20 PM on Saturday, targeted the villages of Tal Maarez, Alasa, and Al-Khawiyar in eastern Aleppo with mortar shells. They also monitored missiles fired from a Qasd launcher towards Umm Tina, a village under their control, without clear reasons. These accusations come as a deadline for implementing a March deal approaches, with expectations of further incidents and intensified media warfare between the SDF and Damascus. Earlier today, Syrian Foreign Minister Asad a-Shevani, who is visiting Washington, commented on a local election withdrawal. He also reportedly made a plea for sanctions to be lifted, stating, "Can you lift the sanctions, please? We will behave, I swear…" This statement, if authentic, was reportedly posted on SyrianOsint's social media around 10:30 AM UTC. Minister a-Shevani is engaged in discussions in Washington regarding political and security developments with Israel. Previous reports indicate that Syrian Government Forces launched artillery strikes near Aleppo on Saturday evening, resulting in the deaths of at least seven civilians. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has also faced accusations of recruiting Syrian mercenaries.
