In a shocking scene documenting a grave level of violation of human dignity, a video circulated on 25 January 2026 shows elements affiliated with the so-called Syrian Arab Army (the interim authority)—including members of the Ministries of Defense and Interior under the de facto authority—deliberately crushing the bodies of Kurdish fighters using a military armored vehicle.
Under the standards of international humanitarian law (IHL), this act constitutes a serious violation of the sanctity of the dead and raises a strong suspicion of the commission of war crimes requiring legal accountability.
The footage clearly shows the armored vehicle intentionally and visibly driving over the bodies of Kurdish fighters lying on the ground, in the absence of any apparent military necessity. Such conduct amounts to deliberate desecration of corpses and a flagrant breach of the minimum humanitarian rules that require respect for the dead in all armed conflicts, whether international or non-international.
The acts documented in the video represent a clear violation of customary international humanitarian law, in particular the rule obligating respect for the bodies of the dead and prohibiting mutilation, desecration, or outrages upon personal dignity.
This violation occurs within the context of a broader military escalation affecting several predominantly Kurdish regions in Syria, since the launch of the military campaign by the so-called “Syrian Arab Army,” led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, on 7 January 2026.
According to local sources and testimonies from field activists, these operations have resulted in the killing of thousands of Kurdish civilians and fighters, alongside widespread arrests and grave violations, amid an almost total media blackout and the absence of independent and effective accountability mechanisms.
The continuation of such practices reflects a deeply alarming pattern of systematic violence and dehumanization, posing a direct threat to fundamental human rights, foremost among them:
The right to human dignity;
Protection from cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment; and
The obligation to ensure a minimum level of respect for victims, even after death.
The documented crushing of the bodies of Kurdish fighters by a military armored vehicle does not constitute an isolated incident, but rather forms part of a broader pattern of serious violations that may amount to war crimes.
Accordingly, these facts call for the establishment of an independent international investigation, the ensuring of accountability for those responsible, and the prevention of impunity for perpetrators of grave violations, in full accordance with the obligations imposed by international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
