“Civil Society Spotlight” is a series aiming at highlighting and contextualising the voices of Syrian civil society organizations, activists, journalists, and people who advocate for positive solutions, human rights, democratic values, and social justice.
Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime on 8 December 2024, the Alawite community has been subjected to violent acts on the ground, taking on both sectarian and retaliatory dimensions. The spark for these crimes was ignited in late January and early February 2025, when at least ten people were killed by Sunni gunmen who attacked the predominantly Alawite village of Arza in Hama Governorate, central Syria.
Following the massacres in the Syrian coastal region, a wave of sectarian killings and assassinations targeting Alawite civilians began in several Syrian governorates, particularly the coastal areas, Homs, and the Hama countryside, in early April 2025. Since then, the pace of these attacks has gradually escalated, as have kidnappings. Concurrently with the massacres committed in Sweida against the Druze community, more waves of violence occurred. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the number of victims due to sectarian affiliation since the beginning of 2025 in various Syrian governorates has exceeded 1,000.
The Syrian Interim Government has stated on more than one occasion that it seeks to address acts of violence targeting minorities and pledges to protect all sects in the country, and that it has taken several steps in this direction. However, numerous reports indicate that the country continues to witness reprisal killings and sectarian violence, particularly against Alawites in the Syrian coast since March 2025. The government's failure to translate its pledges into real action on the ground undermines its credibility with regard to comprehensive accountability.
Hate speech had fostered this violence
Civil society organisations' responses to sectarian killings have been varied and uneven. Research into organisations' websites and social media platforms shows that most direct condemnations of violence were issued mainly after the massacres in the Coast and in Sweida. The general position was to condemn violence and systematic killings based on sectarianism/identity in all Syria, without focusing on a specific region or city. These acts are a result of security failures and political exploitation, most of them emphasize, and demand that all those involved be held accountable without exception. The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) has continued to systematically and regularly document civilians’ toll in all Syria.
The Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression stated on 8 July 2025 that it had “submitted a comprehensive report to the Fact-Finding Commission documenting widespread violations committed in the Syrian coast and Hama governorate during March 2025”. The report reveals “systematic patterns of sectarian violence and serious violations committed against civilians”.
For its part, Insight, which periodically monitors human rights violations, in its report issued on 23 July, noted that many of the killings and violations in the Syrian coast, Homs and Hama targeted civilians on the basis of sectarian/identity, especially Alawites.
Some organisations considered that hate speech had fostered this violence, linking the increasing spread of sectarian rhetoric on social media platforms to the outbreak of revenge killings. On 27 May and 23 September, Syrians for Truth and Justice published two reports documenting the role of hate speech and campaigns of intimidation in the spread of sectarian violence of last March in the coastal region, indicating an intention to collectively punish Alawite communities. The organisation called on the transitional government to enact clear legislation criminalising hate speech and sectarian incitement and then adopt a comprehensive national strategy to combat it. It thus should promote justice and accountability for all violations and lay the foundations for sustainable civil peace. At the same time, it warned that impunity and continued incitement could lead to a wider cycle of revenge and long-term social division.
A call to control unregulated weapons
On 28 September, four Alawite workers were shot dead by unknown gunmen as they returned from work in the village of Jadrin in the Hama countryside, sparking widespread anger and condemnation among Syrians. Some villages announced a general strike in solidarity with the victims.
In early October, the village of Anaz in Wadi al-Nasara, a Christian-majority area west of Homs province, witnessed popular unrest following the killing of three Christians by masked gunmen. The head of internal security in Homs issued a statement describing the crime as “an organised and deliberate criminal act” aimed at destabilising security and spreading terror among civilians. His post emphasises the government's absolute rejection of all forms of violence that threaten the security and stability of society.
The incident sparked another wave of anger and public unrest, with residents taking to the streets and demanding to restore security and that those responsible be held accountable. Fadi Haliso, executive director of the Basma and Zaitouna Relief and Development Foundation, wrote: “Wadi al-Nasara seems to be on its way to becoming a no-go zone at the hands of the killers on motorcycles roaming from the coast to Homs and its countryside, the countryside of Hama and Sweida. Welcome to the new Syria”.
For his part, writer and journalist Najwan Issa wrote on Facebook that what is happening in Homs can be described as a sectarian massacre, where a rampaging gang of motorcyclists kills at least one Alawite every day, and sometimes more. Some people try to find excuses by digging through the names of the victims, saying “a shabih here” or “a former officer there”. Issa considers these justifications unacceptable.
Journalist Omar Munib Idlibi believes that the murder in Jadrin “represents a dangerous attempt to sow discord and incite strife that only serves the enemies of the country”, adding that “at a time when the authorities are seeking on multiple fronts to consolidate the state's presence and affirm its national discourse as a state for all Syrians, workers from the Alawite sect who are seeking to earn a living are being targeted”. He called on the interim government to assume its responsibilities in putting an end to extrajudicial killings and holding accountable all those who seek to fuel violence and incite sectarian violence.
Accordingly, on 6 October 2025, the civil society group Da'am (Democracy – Justice – Citizenship) in Homs announced a protest where activists from several civil society groups shouted the slogan: “Syrian blood is one, justice is a right for all, and uncontrolled weapons are a danger to every home”. The protest was a translation of Da'am's latest statement calling for the control of weapons, enforcement of the law, an end to assassinations and extrajudicial killings, and the launch of a petition to ban the use of motorcycles in Homs. The gathering met with the provincial police chief on 16 October to discuss improving the security situation and emphasise the misuse of motorcycles to commit extrajudicial killings, which poses a threat to civil peace.
Hanin Ahmad, a civil activist and worker in a number of civil organisations, participated in the hashtag campaign (#Stop_sectarian_killing_in_Homs) on social media platforms, writing: "I don't know how many civilians must be killed in the streets of Homs for the sectarian killings to stop! Why aren't measures taken to stop the use of motorcycles to commit crimes?” She expressed surprise at “the continuation of killings despite the presence of security checkpoints" raising serious questions about the role of the security services and their responsibility to protect civilians.
On 7 October 2025, activists organised a protest in front of the Homs Provincial Police headquarter to condemn the indiscriminate killing of civilians on sectarian grounds. Participants called on the Syrian authorities to curb the proliferation of uncontrolled weapons in the city and restrict them to the public security forces. Among the participants was activist Etab Shaheen, who was shot at by an armed man.
The organisation ‘SEEN for Civil Peace’ condemned the state of insecurity in Homs and its province, following the killing of teacher Layal Damar Gharib, who was shot in front of her school in broad daylight. It also mentions the killing of three other civilians in just two days, in the absence of any effective measures by the security forces. The organisation pointed out that such incidents pose a serious threat to civil peace and the population's trust in official institutions, holding the local authorities responsible for failing to perform their duties and calling for a transparent and independent investigation.
Activists react to the kidnappings
In addition to sectarian killings, there have been reports of kidnappings of civilians based on their identity. Mohammed Qais Haidar, an eighth-grade student, was kidnapped on 8 October in front of his school in Latakia by masked gunmen. The episode sparked widespread anger and condemnation. Neighbourhood residents, school students and teachers organised a solidarity march and sit-in on 10 and 11 October to demand the release of Mohammed. On 1 November, the child returned to his family but no details have been revelead about the kidnappers or whether they had paid a ransom.
As a result of the increase in such incidents, independent activists, as well as the Syrian National Observatory for Human Rights, called on 9 October for a one-day warning strike in the education sector on Sunday 12 October, to protest “all forms of violence that limit safe access to educational institutions”, according to a widely circulated statement.
The call includes schools and universities: it demands safety and protection after the escalation of “sectarian targeting and killings”, citing the killing of teacher Layal Gharib in Homs, the abduction of child Muhammad Qais Haydar in front of his school in Latakia, and the assault on Druze student Ribal Baraka in front of university as examples in many areas in recent days.
Commenting on this, journalist Qasim al-Basri said that the call for an education strike reveals the depth of the Syrian tragedy, as they are demanding not be killed on their way to school or university, nor kidnapped or beaten, humiliated, and that their families would not find them dead on the road days later or receive a call from a kidnapper negotiating for their child's life, regardless of their religion, sect, place of birth or political stance. He pointed to the painful contradiction between the escalation of murders and kidnappings and the official rhetoric that continues to talk about “Syria as a state of citizenship, justice and pluralism”.
Writer and activist Hanadi Zahloot believes that toning down inflammatory rhetoric requires giving priority to stories of human solidarity, suggesting that hope for a united and just Syria is still possible. She cited the solidarity of Syrians, such as the Sunni woman from Idlib who risked her life to save an injured Alawite woman, the Sunni young man who defended his Druze colleague with his body, and friends from different sects who carried aid to her village on the coast.
Campaign to stop the abduction of women
In connection with the kidnappings, on 21 October, a number of Syrian intellectuals and feminists launched a campaign entitled Stop the Kidnapping of Syrian Women to demand an end to these crimes and urge the authorities to deal with them seriously and hold those responsible to account, as well as to open a comprehensive investigation to reveal the fate of the kidnapped women and those involved in their abduction, murder and disappearance.
The participants in the campaign, including novelist and journalist Samar Yazbek: she considers that what is happening is not isolated or random incidents, but rather a pattern of organised and systematic crimes targeting Syrian women, based on sectarian and retaliatory motives. A comprehensive collapse of security and dignity. The dignity of the abducted women and their families is their own dignity, they said, and that they will continue their campaign until justice is achieved for them.
In parallel, the Syrian Women's Lobby launched an advocacy campaign on 14 October called ‘Wenin,’ after international human rights and humanitarian organisations documented hundreds of cases of abductions of Alawite and Druze women, calling for their stories to be told and the fate of the disappeared to be revealed.
On 2 November, Noureddine al-Baba, spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior, announced the results of their investigation into 42 cases of abductions of women and girls in the governorates of Latakia, Tartus, Homs and Hama, attributing most of them to cases of “voluntary escape with a romantic partner”, “temporary or short absences at relatives' or friends' homes lasting no more than 48 hours”, “escape from domestic violence”, cases of “false allegations on social media”, “involvement in prostitution or blackmail”, and “four criminal offences for which arrests were made”. He cited only one case of a proven kidnapping, in which the girl was returned safely after the security services followed up on the case. The search is still ongoing “to reveal the identity of the perpetrators", as he described it.
A few days before the Interior Ministry's announcement, the head of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, 30 October, to multiple reports of women and girls being abducted by unknown armed men, some of whom were subjected to sexual violence and forced marriage, as the victims' families reported. Despite informing the local authorities of their disappearance, “no action was taken to investigate or follow up”.
List of civil society organisations and key activists mentioned in this article:
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR)
Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM)
Da’am (Democracy – Justice – Citizenship)
Fadi Haliso (Executive Director of Basma and Zaitouna Foundation)
Najwan Issa (Writer and journalist)
Syrian National Observatory for Human Rights
Hanin Ahmad (Civil activist)
Omar Munib Idlibi (Journalist)
Hanadi Zahloot (Writer and activist)
Qasim al-Basri (Journalist)
Samar Yazbek (Writer, novelist, and journalist)
Stop the Abduction of Syrian Women Campaign
