Stop Coastal Killings, Safeguard Syrian Civilians
Summary executions and other atrocities have taken place in Syria’s coastal region following insurgent attacks on Syrian security forces and during subsequent government security operations, with the Alawite community bearing the brunt of the violence, Human Rights Watch said today. While interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa acknowledged that “many parties entered the Syrian coast and many violations occurred,” he declined to comment on the involvement of foreign fighters, allied factions, or his own security forces. The full extent and perpetrators of these crimes have not yet been conclusively determined.
The recent wave of abuse began after coordinated attacks on March 6 by armed men apparently linked with the former government of Bashar al-Assad. These attacks resulted in the deaths of 231 members of the security forces as of March 9, according to the new government’s Military Operations Command via its official Telegram channel. In response, government security forces, including factions under the Ministry of Defense, conducted what the government called “combing operations” throughout the region. Unidentified armed groups and individuals-many entering Tartus and Latakia governorates from other parts of Syria following official calls for general mobilization-joined these operations. Unverified videos posted to Telegram channels show perpetrators, many in military fatigues, committing extrajudicial executions, looting, and indiscriminately shooting into homes and villages, as well as widespread mistreatment and outrages on personal dignity, including sectarian rhetoric.
“Syria’s new leaders promised to break with the horrors of the past, but grave abuses on a staggering scale are being reported against predominantly Alawite Syrians in the coastal region and elsewhere in Syria,” said Adam Coogle, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Government action to protect civilians and prosecute perpetrators of indiscriminate shootings, summary executions, and other grave crimes must be swift and unequivocal.”
Human Rights Watch was not able to verify the number of civilians killed or displaced, but obituaries circulating on Facebook indicate hundreds were killed, including entire families. The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) reported on March 9 that general security forces and affiliated armed factions and individuals were responsible for the deaths of at least 396 people, “both civilians and disarmed members of the remnants of the Assad regime.” Some estimates put the civilian death toll at over 700. The SNHR also reported civilian deaths at the hands of armed groups affiliated with the former government.
Initially, official Telegram channels urged people to head to the coast to “support our brothers.” However, this rhetoric quickly changed, with officials later emphasizing that volunteers were no longer needed. On March 6, Latakia’s public security director announced a full security mobilization, while the defense minister ordered military deployment to crush Assad loyalists. By March 7, President al-Sharaa declared that the time for forgiveness had passed, focusing on “liberation” and “purification” of the region while urging security forces to protect civilians. The Military Operations Command reported that about half a million fighters had mobilized to defeat the “Nusayri [a derogatory word for Alawites] rebellion.” It later claimed “individual violations” took place at the hands of “unorganized crowds.”
On March 9, President al-Sharaa announced the formation of an independent national committee to investigate the events of March 6 within 30 days and pledged to refer those responsible for crimes to the judiciary. Syrian authorities should ensure that the commission is able to carry out its work independently and impartially.
Many families in the coastal region have fled because of the security raids, taking shelter in remote mountain villages, the Russian Hmeimim airbase near Latakia city, and across the border in Lebanon.
Human Rights Watch spoke to a 22-year-old Alawite medical student who fled Baniyas city on foot with his family after learning that four of his relatives had been killed. They found shelter in a house on the edge of a village.
“We’re hungry and cold but there’s no way we’ll go back to the city,” he said. “We don’t feel safe there. Here too, there is no rest, every time we hear a sound we run into the wilderness and hide.” He said he contacted the Syrian Red Crescent and the White Helmets for evacuation, but they told him they lacked the capacity. “They told us to call the authorities but there’s no way we can trust them. Our top priority right now is survival and if we survive this then we want to seek refuge outside this country.”
Human Rights Watch reviewed and geolocated videos and images of one incident of mass executions in the village of al-Mukhtariya in the Latakia countryside, counting at least 32 men’s bodies.
Syrian activists in the coastal region told Human Rights Watch that Alawites and others in the region have lived in fear because of abuses during security combing operations since December, as well as widespread loss of livelihoods due to arbitrary dismissals from jobs and the dissolution of the former army and security forces.
Since December, there have been numerous incidents of incitement against predominantly Alawite and Shia communities, including intentional vandalizing and destruction of Alawi religious shrines and mass distribution of anti-Alawite flyers. Violations in the context of combing operations, including summary killings, have been reported since at least early January, including in Alawite-majority villages in the western Homs countryside.
On January 23, security forces conducted a combing operation in Fahel village, during which they arrested at least 58 men, including former military personnel who had had formally resolved their legal status with the new authorities. After the operation concluded, residents say, they discovered bodies on the outskirts of town.
It was later confirmed that 13 former military personnel, some of whom were detained earlier during the operation, and two civilians were killed that day. The Homs media office said in a statement to The National that authorities tracked down and arrested attackers, but no further information has been made public about accountability efforts.
The Syrian government should immediately ensure that civilians who want to flee are able to do so through secure routes and that humanitarian organizations can provide assistance to those sheltering in remote villages, including food, medical aid, and secure relocation options, Human Rights Watch said.
The violence in Syria’s coastal region underscores the urgent need for justice and accountability. Accountability for atrocities must include all parties, including groups like Hay’et Tahrir al-Sham and the Türkiye-backed Syrian National Army, which now constitute Syria’s new security forces. These groups have a well-documented history of human rights abuses and violations of international law. Justice efforts need to address past and ongoing violations, ensuring accountability for abusers and providing reparations to victims.
Syria’s new leadership should also fully cooperate with and ensure unhindered access to independent monitors including the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism for Syria and the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Syria.
At the same time, comprehensive security sector reform of Syria’s new army and security forces is critical. This includes creating a security sector aligned with international human rights standards, ensuring civilian oversight, and implementing rigorous vetting to remove individuals involved in abuses. Other countries should provide technical and financial assistance to ensure that the new security forces protect civilians and observe the rule of law. This should also include supporting an independent judiciary that can ensure the legality of detention and lawful treatment of all detainees.
“Justice is not real justice if it only applies to some but not others,” Coogle said. “Accountability needs to extend to all human rights abusers, regardless of their past or current affiliations. Without this, lasting peace and stability in Syria will remain elusive.”
https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/03/10/syria-end-coastal-killing-spree-protect-civilians