Massacres in Coastal Syria and Sweida: Bloody coordination confronts transitional govt

Since the fall of the authoritarian regime on December 8, 2024, and particularly after the formation of a transitional government in early 2025, violence has erupted in areas under its control—most notably in the coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartous, in Hama, and in Sweida and its countryside. Rights groups and local monitors documented widespread massacres and civilian killings. This report highlights those events and their current implications.

Between March 6–9, massacres swept through Syria’s coastal areas. Video footage showed members of transitional government forces and allied militias engaging in executions, looting, mutilating bodies, and leaving remains outside victims’ homes. Entire houses were torched, and civilians’ property was stolen.

More than 1,479 people were killed, the majority of them Alawites, according to several rights organizations. Documented deaths included 872 in Latakia, 525 in Tartous, and 272 in Hama. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the total number of named civilian victims reached 1,682 during the period from March 6 to April 28.

At least 1,200 people were arrested without warrants or due legal process, with no information on their whereabouts.

Similar atrocities occurred in Sweida and its countryside in southern Syria, beginning July 13, when forces from the transitional government’s defense and interior ministries launched attacks. Heavy clashes erupted in the city and its surroundings, accompanied by artillery fire and road blockades.

The violence left more than 2,048 dead, including 1,592 from Sweida—among them 817 Druze civilians who were executed in summary killings. At least 20 medical staff at Sweida National Hospital were also killed. The number of missing and abducted Druze reached 516, including 103 women.

In a joint report released September 23, Human Rights Watch, Syrians for Truth and Justice, and Syrian Archive found that violations spread across at least 24 towns, villages, and neighborhoods, including Homs, rural Hama, and Sweida.

The report relied on over 100 interviews with victims, witnesses, armed actors, and journalists, alongside audiovisual evidence and verified satellite imagery. Documented abuses included arbitrary executions, home raids, arson, looting, and identity-based targeting.

The rights groups stressed that the transitional government’s defense ministry played a central role in mobilizing and deploying tens of thousands of fighters to joint operations areas. Military leaders, they noted, continued to coordinate deployments even after learning of the massacres.

Speaking to ANHA Agency, Bassam Al-Ahmad reaffirmed that the atrocities in the coastal region, Sweida, and elsewhere are the direct responsibility of Syria’s transitional government.

Bassam Al-Ahmad stressed that “this is not merely a matter of some fighters disobeying orders—the atrocities were the result of coordination at the highest levels, making the transitional government a principal partner in the violations and massacres.”

Al-Ahmad added: “The issue of justice in Syria faces a fundamental dilemma. Can a government accused of committing massacres realistically hold itself accountable? Is it logical to expect a government implicated in such crimes to be the authority overseeing justice?”

He underscored the need to consult the families of victims in defining paths toward justice, whether by prosecuting implicated military and civilian leaders, or through the involvement of international commissions and specialized courts.

Speaking about the report issued by Human Rights Watch, Syrians for Truth and Justice, and the Syrian Archive, Al-Ahmad explained that the widespread violations occurred as part of a coordinated military operation. Accountability, he said, must extend to both civilian and military leadership.

In conclusion, the executive director of Syrians for Truth and Justice emphasized that the massacres were not the outcome of rogue fighters or isolated breaches of orders, but rather part of organized, high-level coordination—placing the Syrian transitional government in direct responsibility for the crimes.

ANHA