Beirut, September 23, 2025 – The Syrian transitional government has promised accountability for violence in three governates in March 2025, but it has provided little transparency on whether its investigation has examined the role of senior military or civilian leaders, or what steps it will take to hold those with command authority to account, Human Rights Watch, Syrians for Truth and Justice, and Syrian Archive said in a report released today.
The 51-page report, “‘Are you Alawi?’ Identity-Based Killings During Syria’s Transition,” documents widespread abuses by government forces, government-aligned armed groups, and armed volunteers, including summary executions, deliberate destruction of property, and abuse of detainees. The findings show that these crimes unfolded within the framework of a centrally coordinated military operation directed by the Defense Ministry, whose officials continued to coordinate deployments even after the mass killings became public.
“The government’s acknowledgment of atrocities is a step forward, but it falls short of ensuring justice for higher-level officials who enabled or failed to stop them,” said Hiba Zayadin, senior Syria researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Failing to hold accountable commanders and officials responsible for deploying and directing abusive forces leaves the door open to further reprisals and atrocities in Syria.”
The violence in March was triggered by a coordinated wave of attacks beginning on March 6 by armed men the government described as loyalists of the former government of Bashar al-Assad. These attacks killed at least 200 government personnel. Government forces responded with security sweep operations throughout the region during which widespread identity-based abuses and atrocities were carried out, primarily targeting Alawis, perceived to be loyal to the previous government of Bashar al-Assad.
Drawing on more than 100 interviews with victims, witnesses, fighters, and journalists, and verified audiovisual material and satellite imagery, the groups documented widespread abuses across more than 24 towns, villages, and neighborhoods between March 6 and at least March 10. These included summary executions, house raids, looting, arson, and identity-based abuse.
While the groups found no direct orders to commit atrocities, it confirmed that the new government’s Defense Ministry played a central role in mobilizing units and coordinating their deployments. The authorities mobilized tens of thousands of fighters from across the country and assigned them shared operational zones. Fighters described receiving orders via ministry-linked channels, including to hand over responsibility for areas they had “secured” to General Security (police) forces.
Fighters told Human Rights Watch that military leadership continued to coordinate and deploy forces well after authorities knew or should have known about killings and atrocities.
“You do not need a signed order to hold senior officials and faction commanders accountable,” said Bassam al-Ahmed, co-founder and executive director at Syrians for Truth and Justice. “Ministry of Defense officials had the power to mobilize tens of thousands of fighters, assign and share geographic deployments, and keep operations running across dozens of towns for days. The question is not just who gave the orders, or if they did, it is why no one in charge could curb the widespread killings and looting. That is a failure of leadership and a failure of will.”
The Syrian National Committee for Investigation and Fact-Finding into the Events on the Coast presented a summary of its final report at a news conference in Damascus on July 22, stating that at least 1,426 people were killed, and authorities referred 298 suspects to prosecutors. The inquiry’s findings confirming mass atrocities against civilians mark a departure from the climate of denial and impunity under the Assad government, but it stopped short of confronting deeper institutional failures, including the role of senior officials in enabling or failing to prevent widespread abuses.
The committee framed the attacks as acts of personal revenge, but its own findings, and those of the joint investigation reveal a broader campaign of collective punishment targeting Alawi communities. Numerous videos and witness evidence reviewed and verified by researchers reveal that victims were often interrogated about their identity before being killed, and armed groups used anti-Alawi slurs during raids.
One resident of Brabshbo, a village in southern Latakia, said that she and her husband remained at home with their three children on March 8 after being assured by local officials and General Security forces that civilians who stayed indoors would not be harmed. That evening, armed men entered their home, asked whether they were Alawi, and upon learning they were, took her husband outside and shot him at the doorstep. “They didn’t ask about his work or anything, they just shot him,” she said.
Some ministry-affiliated fighters admitted that people were executed solely for their perceived identity. One member of a former Syrian National Army faction said that in house-to-house raids, “People were killed just because they were Alawi.”
Human Rights Watch, Syrians for Truth and Justice, and Syrian Archive also noted the committee’s own acknowledgment that security forces committed violations prior to March. The joint investigation found that patterns of arbitrary detention, home raids, and identity-based targeting in Alawi communities had begun weeks earlier in Homs and rural Hama. Abuses have since continued, including in the southern province of Sweida in July, where local Druze residents have reported summary executions, looting, and destructing of property during recent security operations by units from the Defense and Interior Ministries.
The committee’s engagement with civil society and international actors as well as its stated commitment to justice, is a positive development, the groups said. Its recommendations for institutional reform, transitional justice measures, reparations, and the consolidation of armed groups under transparent and accountable structures are constructive proposals that require urgent follow-through.
However, the credibility of these efforts depends on next steps, including public transparency and meaningful accountability at all levels.
Syrian authorities should release their full investigative report, protect witnesses’ identities, and ensure due process for those accused, the groups said. They should ensure that judicial proceedings examine not just individual crimes but institutional responsibility.
The authorities should also allow access to international accountability mechanisms, including from the United Nations and they should carry out security reforms including vetting fighters, removing abusive fighters, and enforce clear command structures and codes of conduct.
“This is not about a single week in March,” said Jelnar Ahmad, program manager at Syrian Archive. “It is an indicator of a broader pattern that needs to be addressed structurally and transparently.”
