Over 1,200 Killed in Targeted Assassinations and Sectarian Violence Across Syria: SOHR

Syria faces a wave of revenge killings and criminal chaos following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, amid continuing Israeli incursions in the south.

Syria, PUREWILAYAH.COM - The Syria Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has reported a significant escalation in targeted assassinations, sectarian killings, and retaliatory violence across multiple Syrian provinces following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime on December 8, 2024.

According to the Observatory, the post-regime period has seen widespread criminal acts targeting civilians from various sectarian and political backgrounds, creating an atmosphere of fear and instability across the country.

Between December 8, 2024, and October 8, 2025, SOHR documented 1,237 victims of retaliatory acts and summary killings. The casualties included 1,182 men, 34 women, and 21 children, distributed across the provinces as follows:

• Damascus: 54 total (53 men, 1 woman), 25 cases of sectarian violence

• Damascus outskirts: 103 total (101 men, 2 women), 19 sectarian

• Homs: 390 total (362 men, 19 women, 9 children), 257 sectarian

• Hama: 284 total (273 men, 7 women, 4 children), 193 sectarian

• Latakia: 119 total (109 men, 4 women, 6 children), 97 sectarian

• Aleppo: 109 total (109 men), 4 sectarian

• Tartus: 82 total (80 men, 1 woman, 1 child), 62 sectarian

• Idlib: 21 total (21 men)

• Sweida: 9 total (9 men), 4 sectarian

• Daraa: 55 total (54 men, 1 child), 1 sectarian

• Deir ez-Zor: 11 total (11 men)

Summary Executions and Revenge Killings

SOHR further documented 160 revenge killings and summary executions between December 8, 2024, and the end of that year. The victims included 159 men and 1 woman, distributed as follows:

• Damascus: 5 men

• Damascus outskirts: 8 men

• Aleppo: 16 men

• Homs: 41 total (40 men, 1 woman), 35 sectarian

• Hama: 52 men, 47 sectarian

• Latakia: 19 men, 19 sectarian

• Idlib: 1 man

• Daraa: 5 men

• Deir ez-Zor: 2 men

• Tartus: 8 men, 5 sectarian

• Sweida: 3 unspecified cases

Sweida Massacre and Field Executions

On August 13, 2025, the Observatory reported the names of 28 Syrian citizens, including 12 women, who were executed in the field by members of the defense and interior ministries during the July Sweida massacre.

This brought the total number of summary executions in Sweida since July 13 to 429, including 38 women, 14 children, and several elderly individuals.

Earlier, on August 7, SOHR estimated that 9,889 people had been killed across Syria since the fall of the former regime. Among them were 7,449 civilians, including 396 children and 541 women, underlining the severe vulnerability of non-combatants amid the ongoing turmoil and absence of state control.

Israeli Military Incursions into Southern Syria

Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation has continued its incursions into southern Syria. On Wednesday, an Israeli military patrol composed of six vehicles infiltrated the village of Mualaqa in the Quneitra countryside, where troops reportedly shot and wounded a civilian collecting firewood in the Jabata al-Khashab forest before withdrawing to occupied territory.

The day before, another Israeli patrol of five vehicles entered Al-Samadaniya Al-Sharqiya, also in Quneitra. On Saturday, October 4, Israeli forces raided the village of Jumla in western Daraa and detained four young men.

According to SOHR, Israeli special forces infiltrated the village, detained the youths, and established a temporary checkpoint at its entrance, supported by reconnaissance drones. The operation reportedly lasted about an hour before the forces withdrew toward the occupied Golan Heights.

Source: (Al-Mayadeen/SOHR)