Masked gunmen attack Syria concert hall in Idlib

Masked gunmen attacked a wedding hall in northern Idlib on Friday, shortly before a planned event commemorating the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime — the latest in a series of clashes between civilians and Islamist hardliners in post-Assad Syria.

According to local outlet Enab Baladi, the assault took place at the Mazaj hall in the town of Sarmada, where popular Syrian singer Mohammed Al-Sheikh was due to perform at an event billed as a "victory celebration". The event, organised for between 400 and 500 people, was widely seen as a symbolic commemoration of the Assad regime’s collapse in December 2024.

The hall’s manager, Khaled Othman, told Enab Baladi that he received a booking request the day before the incident. As the venue was being prepared on Friday afternoon, a group of armed, masked men stormed the building, vandalising equipment, insulting staff, and firing weapons inside the premises.

Security forces from Idlib’s local authorities reportedly responded and conducted a series of arrests in the vicinity, though the identities of the attackers remain unknown. The damage to the hall was estimated at around $10,000. "I still don’t know why we were targeted," Othman said.

Videos circulated online showed the masked assailants shouting religious chants while smashing speakers and sound equipment. The footage bears a resemblance to previous incidents in Idlib where hardline Islamist groups, particularly during Hayat Tahrir al-Sham's de facto governance, cracked down on what they deemed "un-Islamic activities".

Although no group has claimed responsibility, the nature of the attack — targeting music, a mixed gathering, and a secular-style celebration — strongly suggests the involvement of religious purists opposed to such displays, even in the context of anti-Assad sentiment.

Singer Mohammed Al-Sheikh, who spent years in exile in Turkey, has held several concerts in northern Syria since the collapse of the Assad regime. Friday’s concert had been advertised weeks in advance but was abruptly cancelled following the attack.

The incident echoes past tensions in Idlib, where events deemed “morally inappropriate” — such as music, public festivals, and gender mixing — have previously been met with violence or threats. In late 2023, a similar episode at Al-Hamra Mall in Idlib saw shots fired after conservative factions accused organisers of promoting “immorality". 

Idlib’s public morality laws were first introduced under the Salvation Government led by current Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in 2023 and early 2024.

The laws quickly became a flashpoint for tensions between conservative factions and segments of the civilian population. Sharaa later disbanded formal morality enforcement bodies - such as the Public Morality Protection Police - amid growing criticism and protests, which angered many hardline Islamist groups.