Shakir Ajjan was living in the village of Yalda, which, at the time, was under the control of the Free Syrian Army and besieged by the Syrian Army. On January 5, 2014, the Syrian Army agreed to allow the evacuation of all the civilians not directly participating in hostilities. At the time, Shakir was a minor.

On January 5, 2014, while they were trying to evacuate Yalda, Shakir Ajjan and other members of his family were stopped at a checkpoint controlled by the Syrian Army located in Al Wahash Street, in Sayyida Zeinab. Members of the Syrian Army, wearing military uniforms, arrested Shakir Ajjan and the other members of the family and took them to an unknown location. Shakir Ajjan’s fate and whereabouts remain unknown to date.

Since the arrest, Shakir Ajjan’s family has gone every year – the last time in May 2019 – to enquire about his fate and whereabouts to the military police station in Qaboun, Damascus Governorate, as well as to the Criminal Court in Damascus, but to no avail.