Human rights report documents massacres on Syrian coast

The International Organization for Monitoring Crimes Against Humanity revealed in a new report released today that 62 documented sectarian massacres occurred in cities and villages along the Syrian coast in just three days in March 2025, resulting in the deaths of 1,676 civilians, including women and children. The organization described this as a "systematic wave of mass killings and violations that amount to crimes against humanity."

The report explained that the number of victims was distributed as follows: 866 in Latakia, 525 in Tartus, and 272 in Hama. It noted that the massacres targeted civilians from the Alawite sect for clear sectarian reasons and were accompanied by field executions, mass burials, and forced displacement.

The report documented testimonies confirming the field executions of civilians by gunmen wearing official military uniforms and suspected of being affiliated with the Damascus government. It also noted the kidnapping of more than 50 women and their detention in degrading conditions, in addition to documenting cases of "captivity" reminiscent of the practices of ISIS mercenaries, in flagrant violation of the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

The report quoted a moving testimony from a 22-year-old medical student who fled Baniyas after four of his relatives were killed. He said, "We are hungry and cold. We can't go back, and we don't trust anyone. Whenever we hear a sound, we run into the wilderness to hide. Our only priority now is to save our lives, even if it means fleeing the country."

At the end of the report, the organization called for an independent international investigation under UN supervision, expanding the mandate of the International, Impartial, and Independent Mechanism for Syria (IIIM) to access mass graves and collect evidence and testimonies, dismantling irregular armed structures in the coastal area, removing foreign fighters, protecting abducted women, and providing safe passages and urgent humanitarian and psychological support to survivors.

Sh-S

ANHA