This human rights material documents a circulated video showing a number of bodies dressed in civilian clothing lying along the sides of a road in an area believed to be located between al-Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor governorates in northern Syria, in the context of an ongoing armed conflict. The significance of this documentation lies in its recording of potential visual evidence of serious violations, alongside inciting statements and hate speech voiced by the individual filming the video and a companion.
The video shows a person filming while wearing military attire attributed to the Syrian Arab Army affiliated with the Syrian interim authority. During the recording, statements are heard from the cameraman and an accompanying individual, containing derogatory and inciting language of an ethnic nature directed at the victims, as well as expressions of threats and gloating.
The cameraman is heard saying: “Allahu Akbar, the bodies of the PKK Kurdish pigs,” while another person accompanying him says: “Hell and a wretched fate—may God’s curse be upon you, you pigs,” while raising his index finger.
The footage clearly shows several bodies in civilian clothing on both sides of the road in a semi-desert area. At the end of the video, a civilian vehicle is seen stopped by the roadside and appears to have been subjected to an armed attack, with no confirmed information available regarding the timing of the attack or the identity of those inside the vehicle.
Based on the visual indicators and the nature of the area, it is likely that the filming location is on a road between al-Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor governorates in northern Syria. The Rights Monitor platform documented that this video was first published on an account on the “X” platform on 20 January 2026.
This documentation comes within a broader context of serious violations committed against Kurdish civilians, in the framework of a military operation carried out by the forces of the Syrian interim authority, represented by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, against predominantly Kurdish areas.
These operations began on 6 January 2026 with attacks targeting the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods in the city of Aleppo, before those areas were taken over on 10 January 2026. At a later stage, the military operations expanded to areas east of the Euphrates, following the alliance of some Arab tribes with the interim government forces, particularly in Raqqa and the northern countryside of Deir ez-Zor. As the operations advanced, they extended to other Kurdish areas, including Kobani, the Hasakah countryside, and the Qamishli countryside.
Multiple human rights documentations indicate that the military campaign targeting predominantly Kurdish areas during the stated period resulted in the killing, arrest, and disappearance of large numbers of Kurdish civilians and fighters, in addition to other serious violations, including indiscriminate killings and attacks on civilians and residential homes.
The video footage reveals a disturbing pattern of public threats and incitement based on ethnic identity, which increases the risk of further crimes and constitutes a serious indicator of intent to target individuals on the basis of ethnicity or national affiliation, in clear violation of the principles of international humanitarian law.
