“Perpetrators at large”: 20+ killed in Syria’s coast since Eid al-Fitr
Shafaq News/ Over 20 people, mostly from the Alawite sect, have been killed in several provinces along Syria's coastal region in recent days, with the perpetrators still at large, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on Saturday.
Since Monday, March 31, the first day of Eid al-Fitr, 22 civilians, including two children, have been killed. Several bodies were found in conditions resembling field executions across villages and towns in the countryside of Tartus, Homs, and Hama. Some victims were shot directly, while others were discovered after several days of disappearance, according to the Observatory.
منذ حـ ـادثـ ـة مـ ـقـ ـتـ ـل الطفل #ابراهيم_شاهين.. الإعـ ـدامـ ـات الميدانية على أساس طائفي لم تتوقف و #المرصد_السوري يوثق 22 حالة بينهم طفلين https://t.co/eqAgi4XAmF
— المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان (@syriahr) April 5, 2025
Among the documented incidents were the killing of a young man in Barmaia, near Baniyas, with a shot to the head, a beheading in al-Kazimiyah in the Homs countryside, a double murder targeting a young man and a child on a motorcycle in the Salamiyah countryside, and a massacre in Homs city that claimed the lives of five family members.
Several kidnappings were reported, including the abduction of four young men from the Baniyas countryside, who were later released after being beaten, and the discovery of the bodies of two young men from Draykish in the Tartus countryside after their disappearance.
SOHR warned of rising sectarian rhetoric, fueled by documented footage showing some security personnel or religious group representatives justifying violence with direct incitement. "The continuation of this approach, combined with the failure to bring perpetrators to justice, signals further societal disintegration," it explained, urging the issuance of official fatwas to criminalize bloodshed and promote national unity.
The humanitarian situation, the Observatory noted, is worsening in affected areas, where displaced families suffer from a lack of aid and insecurity, while relief teams face security and logistical challenges in reaching them, urging the international community to “fulfill its legal and moral responsibilities and take urgent action to stop these crimes.”
Earlier, six people, including a child named Ibrahim Shaheen, were "mercilessly killed" in the village of Harf Bin Nimra in the Baniyas countryside, sparking public anger, particularly after images of the child revealed his extreme poverty. The attack, which allegedly included sectarian slogans and open threats, has been linked to elements from a military base belonging to the Ministries of Defense and Interior, leading to widespread displacement among the region's residents.
For nearly a month, sectarian-based field killings have been escalating across several Syrian provinces, despite repeated warnings from human rights organizations and international calls to halt these violations.
