ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Tens of members of Syria's Alawite community have been killed since the start of 2026 in “crimes bearing a sectarian nature,” a UK-based human rights watchdog reported on Monday, noting that the Damascus authorities have yet to make any arrests or initiate judicial proceedings in connection with the killings.
The “documented” crimes “varied between direct gunfire, throwing bombs, and kidnapping,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said, pointing to the verified killing of 86 men, nine women, and five children from the community.
“Despite continuous demands to launch serious and transparent investigations, reveal the circumstances of the killings, and hold those responsible accountable,” SOHR said, “The relevant authorities [in Damascus] have not announced the arrest of any perpetrators of these crimes or their presentation to justice.”
"The continued absence of accountability deepens fear and erodes trust, leaving the door open for further crimes and impunity," the rights monitor added.
The report comes a year after more than 1,700 Alawites were killed by Damascus forces and affiliated armed groups in March 2025. The deadly events placed Syria's interim authorities, which came to power following the ouster of longtime Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in late 2024, under intense international scrutiny.
Largely concentrated in Syria's western coastal regions, the Alawite community has long been stereotyped as supporters of deposed dictator Bashar al-Assad, who was himself an Alawite.
The authorities also faced a wave of condemnation following violence in the southern Suwayda province in July 2025 that killed more than 1,200 people, the majority of them Druze. The violence erupted following a kidnapping incident before escalating into three waves of clashes involving Damascus-affiliated forces, allied Bedouin tribal fighters, and Druze armed groups.
SOHR on Monday urged Damascus to reveal the truth behind what it called “sectarian-motivated killings” in the country, calling on Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and the Damascus authorities to fulfil their "legal and moral responsibilities" by “protecting all citizens without discrimination and expediting accountability for the perpetrators.”
