Eurasia Press & News
A government source confirmed to Enab Baladi the appointment of Abdul Rahman Salama (Abu Ibrahim) as governor of Raqqa today, Monday, January 19, without an official announcement of the appointment so far.
The source, who has reservations about publishing his name or position, denied appointing a governor for Hasaka until the moment of writing the news.
Several government and media figures blessed for Salama were published by appointing him governor of Raqqa, most notably the governor of Aleppo, Azzam al-Gharib, where he thanked him for what he described as his “valued efforts during the past period in the province of Aleppo, which had a great impact on improving conditions and developing services.”
For his part, the Minister of Local Administration and Environment said that the governors of Hasaka and Raqqa will soon join the meeting of the governors to discuss the service reality on the entire Syrian soil and their participation of duties and responsibilities, without referring to the names of the governors or the date of the meeting.
He added through his tweet on the site “X”, that “serving our people in all the provinces is a constant right and an unaviable commitment, and we will work to consolidate it wherever the Syrian citizen is,” as he put it.
The appointment of Salameh comes after the withdrawal of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from the city of Raqqa and the entry of the Syrian army to it, after a military operation that lasted for days, which ended with an agreement between the government and the SDF to cease fire and the withdrawal of the latter from the provinces of Raqqa and Deir Ezzor.
The agreement signed by the Syrian president in the transitional period, Ahmed al-Sharaa, on Sunday, January 18, issued a presidential decree appointing a candidate to occupy the post of governor of Hasaka, as a guarantee of political participation and local representation.
Who is Abdulrahman Salama?
Salama has served as Deputy Supervisor of the Northern and Eastern Aleppo Rural Areas, including Afrin, Azaz, Al-Bab, Jarablus and Manbij since 24 April 2025.
Before his arrival, Salameh appeared alongside the Syrian President, Al-Sharaa, and accompanied him in his travels and official meetings, without announcing his appointment to an official position.
He played a prominent role in the “Aleppo Six All” campaign, the most prominent donation campaign in Syria, which was able to raise more than $425 million in December 2025.
Salama hails from the city of Andan in the northern countryside of Aleppo, and was born in 1971, and there is no information about his education.
Before the Syrian revolution, Salame worked in a quarry for the stone as a partner with a family from the same area, according to information obtained by Enab Baladi from a relative.
With the start of the revolution, he turned to armed action, and became “Emir” in the “Nusra Front” in 2012, the nucleus of “HTS” founded by the current Syrian president, Sharia.
Abu Ibrahim went out to Idlib in late 2016, after the former regime took control of Aleppo, and remained a military commander within the ranks of the factions that emerged from “Nusra.”
Salama is one of the most prominent economic arms of “Tahrir Al-Sham”, and he is the CEO of Al-Raqi Construction Company, which has carried out many service works, including the paving and expansion of roads and electrical towers (high-tension) and the establishment of schools and hospitals.
Al-Raqi had a role in the renaissance of the economic city of Idlib, which it witnessed during the rule of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham before the fall of the regime, but it was accused of monopolizing the implementation of projects.
Salameh is from a family known for his opposition to the former regime, and came out of it several leaders and elements of the opposition factions during the period of the Syrian revolution, most notably Abdul Aziz Salama, nicknamed “Hajji Andan” and the leader of the “Unification Brigade” was one of the most prominent factions that were active in Aleppo.
