The citizen Suleiman Abdulhamid Nisafi (60 years old), an Alawite civilian who worked as a shepherd, was killed following an armed attack suspected of being sectorally motivated. The incident occurred on the evening of June 11, 2026, on the road connecting the villages of Jubb Abbas and Al-Shawkatliyah in the eastern countryside of Homs.
According to available information, two armed individuals riding a motorcycle opened fire directly at Nisafi while he was herding sheep, resulting in his death. The attackers also attempted to kill his brother, Mahmoud Nisafi, who was accompanying him; however, he managed to survive the attack.
This incident falls within a series of bloody events that have targeted civilians from the Alawite community in recent days across the governorates of Homs and Hama, amid rising fears of a recurring pattern of violence linked to sectarian affiliation.
On June 9, 2026, the citizen Ali Khazem Al-Darwish, a member of the Alawite community, was killed hours after being abducted from his home in the village of Al-Rabiaa in the countryside of Hama Governorate. According to available information, an armed group stormed his house and took him to an unknown destination, before his body was later found at the junction of Kafr Al-Tun village, having succumbed to fatal gunshot wounds.
On June 8, 2026, the citizen Ali Ismail, the owner of the “Al-Ghadir” butcher shop and a member of the Alawite community, passed away from wounds sustained during an armed attack that targeted him inside his workplace in the Al-Arman neighborhood of Homs city. Information indicates that an armed individual stormed the shop and opened fire on him, before the attacker was subsequently killed during an apprehension attempt by the victim’s brother.
June 7, 2026, also witnessed several armed attacks in the countryside of Hama, including the killing of two young men, Yael Khader Al-Khader and Ali Hassan Al-Hassan, and the injury of three others, including a child, in an attack that targeted members of a single family in the town of Tal Sakkin (Al-Sarout) in the western countryside of Hama. In a separate incident on the same day, Kolb Ahmed Alloush and Mahmoud Ayman Alloush were killed, while Ahmed Ayman Alloush (19 years old) and Ali Kolb Alloush were injured, following an armed attack targeting members of the Alloush family inside a barbershop in the village of Al-Shuhaib in the Salamiyah countryside.
On June 6, 2026, local sources documented the killing of the citizen Hassan Youssef Al-Tawil, originally from the village of Al-Barouhah in the Talkalakh district of the western countryside of Homs, five days after his arrest by personnel affiliated with the Public Security (Amn Al-Aam), according to available information. The sources also reported that his brother, Hafez Al-Tawil, had passed away last year during detention as a result of torture, according to local testimonies.
Furthermore, two young men, Majd Hatem Al-Shaer and Yamen Hussein Al-Suleiman, both from the Alawite community, were killed in an armed attack carried out by unidentified assailants on the evening of June 1, 2026, in the village of Kitlon, which belongs to the countryside of Salamiyah city, east of Hama Governorate.
The documented facts during the recent period indicate an escalation in incidents of killing and targeting that have affected civilians from the Alawite community in a number of Syrian regions, particularly in the countrysides of Homs and Hama. The repetition of these incidents and the similarity of their patterns raise serious concerns regarding the potential existence of targeting based on sectarian affiliation, a matter that necessitates conducting independent and transparent investigations to identify and hold those responsible accountable.
These incidents constitute a grave violation of the right to life and personal security, both of which are fundamental rights guaranteed under international human rights law. They also underscore the urgent need to adopt effective measures to protect civilians, prevent acts of violence and incitement to hatred, and ensure the accountability of perpetrators of violations in accordance with relevant international standards.
