UN committee: “massacres and violations that amount to war crimes” in the Syrian coast

The violence – which primarily targeted the upper societies and reached its climax in massacres that occurred in early March – included killing, torture and inhuman actions related to the treatment of the dead, looting on a large scale and burning homes.

This led to the displacement of tens of thousands of civilians. Some of these horrific works were filmed and published on social media, as well as footage of civilians who are subjected to abuse and humiliation, according to Statement The committee was issued today, Thursday.

These violations were committed by elements of the interim government forces and ordinary individuals who worked alongside them, as well as by fighters loyal to the previous government or the so -called “remnants”. Violations included actions that may rise to war crimes.

A disturbing pattern of killings

Paulo Sergio Pinero, Chairman of the Committee, said: “The size and brutality of the documented violence in our report is very worrying. We call on temporary authorities to pursue all perpetrators, regardless of their affiliations or ranks. Despite reports about dozens of alleged perpetrators have been arrested since then, the volume of violence documented in our report calls for expanding the scope of these efforts.”

In the context of a disturbing pattern of documented killings in several sites, “the men belonging to the Alawite sect were first identified, then separated them from women and children before being taken abroad to shoot and kill them.”

The bodies were left in the streets for days, and the families were prevented from buried according to religious rituals, while others were buried in mass graves without proper documentation. The hospitals became exhausted due to the accumulation of the bodies. The medical facilities in Tartous and Lattakia witnessed paralysis of their absorptive capacity after attacks by fighters loyal to the previous government during a previous stage of violence.

The committee concluded that in some cases the interim government forces sought to stop violations, evacuate and protect civilians. However, at the same time, the oldest individuals of certain factions, were recently combined into the security forces of the interim government, to execute, torture civilians outside the judiciary, torture and abuse their treatment in many villages and neighborhoods with a systematic majority in a systematic and wide way.

The committee stated that it had documented consistent patterns of violence against the civilian population in multiple locations, which included targeting on the basis of religious affiliation, age and sex, as well as mass executions.

Intensive investigations

The results of the committee were based on extensive investigations, which included more than 200 interviews with victims and witnesses. The committee expressed its gratitude to the interim authorities to provide unrestricted access to the affected areas in Lattakia and Tartous in June 2025, including to meet a group of officials as well as visiting three sites to mass graves.

What is concern is that the committee is still receiving information on continuous violations in many affected areas, including kidnapping women, arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearance, as well as continuing looting and occupying property.

The severe violence that deepened the existing divisions between local communities, which contributed to creating an atmosphere of fear and inception among many Syrians across the country, according to the statement of the UN committee.

You can read more about the committee’s report here.

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The Independent International Investigation Committee for the Syrian Arab Republic was established on August 22, 2011 by the Human Rights Council under Resolution S-17/1. The committee’s mandate is to investigate all alleged violations of international human rights law committed since March 2011 in the Syrian Arab Republic.

The Human Rights Council also assigned the committee to prove the facts and circumstances that may amount to such violations and crimes committed with standing, wherever it is possible, to determine the perpetrators with the aim of ensuring that those responsible for those violations, including violations that may amount to crimes against humanity, are held accountable. The Human Rights Council has repeatedly extended the committee’s mandate since then, the last of which is March 31, 2025.