Prepared by: Rights Monitor (Human Rights Monitor Platform in Syria)
Date of Issue: October 31, 2025
Report Summary
This report documents violations and incidents of killing, enforced disappearance, kidnapping, torture, property seizure, crop looting, and systematic hate speech in Syria, focusing on areas controlled by the Interim Authority (Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham) during October 2025. It also includes cases from September 2025 that were newly published and documented in October 2025. The majority of these cases are documented with photos and videos of the victims or incident sites.
The report reviews alarming patterns of systematic sectarian and racial violence, which were prominently focused on targeting members of religious and ethnic minorities, particularly Alawites, Shiites, Christians, Murshidis, and Kurds. This report compiles cases that were documented and published on our website https://rightsmonitor.org/
during the current month of October, but dozens of similar cases could not be included due to the fear of sources to disclose them or due to technical and logistical obstacles related to the platform.
First: Killings and Assassinations
October 31, 2025, Rural Tartous: The young man Hossam Al-Asmar, from the Alawite sect, was killed from gunfire by an armed group.
October 29, 2025, Aleppo: The young man Mahmoud Issa, from the Alawite sect, was killed by gunmen on a motorcycle.
October 28, 2025, Homs: The engineer Fouad Mohammad Darbouli, from the Alawite sect, was assassinated.
October 28, 2025, Damascus: The young woman Aya Salam and the young man Kamal Abdul Baqi were killed in an armed attack targeting a civilian bus on the Damascus–As-Suwayda road.
October 27, 2025, Rural Damascus: Mr. Atta Ali Al-Qattan, from the Shiite sect, was killed in an armed attack in the town of Ghazlaniyah.
October 26, 2025, Damascus: The young man Bilal Ali, from the Alawite sect, was killed during a security raid in the Mezzeh 86 neighborhood.
October 25, 2025, Latakia: The body of the young man Thaer Abu Al-Shamlat, from the Alawite sect, was found killed in the Ras Ibn Hani area.
October 24, 2025, Homs: The teacher Riham Nizar Hammoud, from the Alawite sect, was killed in a hand grenade attack.
October 22, 2025, Homs: The young man Rami Hassan Al-Naysani, from the Alawite sect, died as a result of torture in the prisons of the Interim Authority.
October 21, 2025, Homs: The girl Haneen Raslan (13 years old) was killed and her sister Ghazal Raslan (14 years old) was injured, both from the Alawite sect, in an armed attack.
October 21, 2025, Homs: The body of the young man Alaa Mohammad Ibrahim, from the Alawite sect, was found killed in the Qarabis neighborhood.
October 20, 2025, Homs: Hatem Aboud, from the Alawite sect, was killed in the Al-Wuroud neighborhood.
October 19, 2025, Homs: Three civilians from the Alawite sect were killed in an armed attack on Bab Al-Drib road.
October 17, 2025, Daraa: Mrs. Khairiyah Mohammad Ali Al-Fadheel was killed by gunmen in the city of Nawa.
October 17, 2025, Aleppo: Hisham Khazami, responsible for the prisoner exchange file and a representative of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, was assassinated.
October 18, 2025, Homs: Nasser Mohammad Al-Issa, from the Shiite sect, was killed in an armed attack.
October 16, 2025, Talkalakh: Two people were killed and two others were injured in an attack on a barbershop.
October 16, 2025, Latakia: Saleh Ahmad Thaljah, from the Sunni sect, was killed.
October 17, 2025, Damascus: Yasser Mamdouh Hussein was killed in the town of Bloudan.
October 18, 2025, Damascus: Ghiyath Hamidi Shaqoul, from the Shiite sect, was killed.
October 10, 2025, Homs: Asad Ibrahim Al-Yousef, from the Alawite sect, was killed.
October 9, 2025, Damascus: Wissam Marhej Suleiman, from the Alawite sect, was killed.
October 3, 2025, Daraa: The body of engineer Majd Kamel Khalil, from the Alawite sect, was found.
October 1, 2025, Rural Hama: Mahmoud Khneiseh, from the Alawite sect, was killed.
October 1, 2025, Rural Homs: Wissam George Mansour and Shafiq Rafiq Mansour were killed in Wadi Al-Nasara.
September 28, 2025, Homs: Ali Ramez Al-Hajji, from the Shiite sect, was killed.
September 29, 2025, Tartous: Kamal Abdul Latif Sobh, from the Alawite sect, was killed.
September 30, 2025, Tartous: Haitham Abdul Aziz Yousef, from the Alawite sect, was killed.
September 27, 2025, Hama: Amjad Rakan Sweid, from the Murshidi sect, was killed.
September 25, 2025, Tartous: Maher Hammoud, from the Alawite sect, was killed.
Second: Kidnapping and Enforced Disappearance
October 31, 2025, Rural Hama: The citizen Ahmad Ali Hamdan, from the Alawite sect, was kidnapped.
October 27, 2025, Rural Damascus: Dr. Hamza Shaheen, from the Druze sect, was kidnapped.
October 21, 2025, Damascus: Contact was lost with Alaa Mahmoud Mufleh, from the Alawite sect.
October 22, 2025, Banias: The two young men “Fadi Abdullah Dowa” and “Rabee Hassan Salloum,” from the Alawite sect, went missing.
October 19, 2025, Jableh: The young man Mohammad Ismail Abdullah, from the Alawite sect, was kidnapped.
October 18, 2025, Homs: Contact was lost with the young man Basel Shahada Jaaifer.
October 18, 2025, Homs: Contact was lost with the citizen Hajmat Taysir Idris, from the Alawite sect.
October 16, 2025, Afrin: Contact was lost with the Kurdish young man Hussein Abdo Haskeh.
October 16, 2025, Homs: Contact was lost with the young man Ali Mohammad Mohammad, from the Alawite sect.
October 13, 2025, Aleppo: Two underage Kurdish girls were kidnapped.
October 12, 2025, Damascus: Contact was lost with the young man Jaafar Abdul Hamid Mahmoud, from the Alawite sect.
October 12, 2025, Tartous: The disappearance of the young man Hashem Al-Khaddour, from the Alawite sect, was reported.
October 11, 2025, Aleppo: The young man Mohammad Fadel Mohammad was kidnapped.
October 8, 2025, Homs: Ali Mohammad Madah, from the Shiite sect, was kidnapped.
October 8, 2025, Latakia: Nabil Ali Mahmoud, from the Alawite sect, was kidnapped.
October 9, 2025, Latakia: Wael Raouan, from the Alawite sect, was kidnapped.
September 20, 2025, Damascus: Dr. Raed Jabbour, from the Alawite sect, was arrested.
October 8, 2025, Homs: Contact was lost with the young man Ammar Moussa Al-Ali.
October 7, 2025, Hama: Nidal Ahmad Salloum was kidnapped.
October 8, 2025, Latakia: The child Mohammad Qais Haidar was kidnapped.
October 7, 2025, Aleppo: The young man Imad Aref Horwi was kidnapped.
October 14, 2025, Tartous: Yasser Wassouf, from the Alawite sect, was kidnapped.
October 13, 2025, Aleppo: Contact was lost with the young woman “Fatima Ramez Ibrahim,” from the Shiite sect.
October 6, 2025, Tartous: Contact was lost with the young woman Naama Mohammad Ibrahim, from the Alawite sect.
October 11, 2025, Latakia: Contact was lost with Mrs. Samar Dawoud Ismail, from the Alawite sect.
October 16, 2025, Rural Damascus: The Christian citizen Anton Elias Khoury was kidnapped.
August 29, 2025, Aleppo: The Kurdish citizen Jumaa Nabo Hussein was kidnapped.
September 17, 2025, Rural Damascus: The producer Mohammad Qabandi was kidnapped.
Third: Torture and Ill-Treatment
October 30, 2025: The health of a Kurdish citizen deteriorated during his torture in December 2024 during his detention in Afrin.
May 2025, Homs: The retired Brigadier General Tarek Habib Asmandar, from the Alawite sect, died inside one of the Interim Authority’s prisons.
July 22, 2025, Tartous: The young man Thaer Mohammad Shadoud, from the Alawite sect, was killed under torture in Tartous Central Prison.
October 6, 2025, Homs: Mohsen Tamer Afifeh, from the Alawite sect, was killed in the prisons of the Interim Authority.
October 8, 2025, Latakia: Sheikh Saleh Mansour was released after arbitrary detention and torture.
Fourth: Property Seizure and Crop Looting
October 26, 2025, Afrin: The olive harvest of the Kurdish citizen Nihad Madour Omar was looted.
October 8, 2025, Afrin: The olive harvest of Kurdish farmers was stolen.
September 27, 2025, Aleppo: Homes of Kurdish citizens in the village of Al-Nairabiya were looted.
Fifth: Armed Attacks and Explosions
October 21, 2025, Tartous: The shrine of Sheikh Mohammad Al-Balsoonri, belonging to the Alawite sect, was attacked.
October 21, 2025, Rural Damascus: Armed attack on Al-Ward neighborhood.
October 24, 2025, Homs: Hand grenade attack on a house in Al-Waleed suburb.
October 16, 2025, Talkalakh: Attack on a barbershop.
October 14, 2025, Latakia: Armed attack on a gas station in Qardaha.
Sixth: Incitement and Hate Speech
October 29, 2025, Afrin: A settler shouted sectarian slogans and insults against Kurds, Alawites, and Druze.
October 28, 2025, Latakia: Sectarian protest in Al-Qninse neighborhood.
October 25, 2025: Individuals wearing Ministry of Defense uniforms threatened to slaughter Kurds, Alawites, and Druze.
October 18, 2025, Talkalakh: Abu Al-Alamein threatened Kurds, Alawites, and Druze.
Seventh: Forced Displacement and Sectarian Raids
October 27, 2025, Damascus: Al-Zahriyat housing was stormed, and its Alawite residents were forcibly displaced.
October 25, 2025, Talkalakh: The General Security raided Alawite neighborhoods and arrested five people.
October 14, 2025, Banias: Collective transfer decisions affecting teachers, most of them Alawites.
October 10, 2025, Damascus: Attack on Alawite neighborhoods in the Al-Qadam area.
Eighth: Other Violations
October 19, 2025, Afrin: A Kurdish citizen and his child were arrested after defending their olive harvest.
October 13, 2025, Damascus: A protest at the Faculty of Arts following an armed assault.
October 12, 2025, Athriya–Homs Road: Damascus authority forces closed the road to travelers from northeastern Syria to Damascus.
October 11, 2025, Latakia: Protest against the kidnapping of the child Mohammad Qais Haidar.
October 9, 2025, Latakia and Jableh: Alawite workers were dismissed from their jobs.
Based on the documentation of the incidents above, there are indicators of the following violations that may constitute crimes under international law:
Extrajudicial killing: Assassinations and abductions followed by killing (field execution) targeting civilians.
Enforced disappearance and arbitrary detention: Arrest cases without announced charges or judicial procedures.
Torture and ill-treatment: Reported cases of torture, deliberate medical neglect, and severe injuries.
Sectarian targeting and systematic discrimination: Attacks, forced displacement, mass dismissals, and transfer of teachers/employees based on sectarian or ethnic affiliation.
Looting and property/land seizure: Confiscation of crops and agricultural lands, theft of civilian property, seizure of money and belongings, or forced ransom payments.
Hate speech and incitement: Recordings and live broadcasts aiming to incite violence against specific groups (Kurds, Alawites, Druze), which may constitute crimes of incitement to violence.
Violation of children’s rights: Targeting and kidnapping of minors.
Human Rights Recommendations
All the above constitute clear breaches of the obligations of the Interim Authorities in Syria under international instruments: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention Against Torture, the rules for the protection of civilians in armed conflict (international humanitarian law), and international human rights standards.
To Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (the Interim Authority): Immediately cease all forms of violence and violations, respect international law, and hold accountable and prosecute all individuals responsible for these crimes.
Open an independent and impartial investigation into all documented incidents, with the participation of international judicial bodies or independent experts if fair local trials cannot be ensured.
Protect witnesses and survivors: Establish protection mechanisms for witnesses, whistleblowers, and representatives of local human rights organizations.
Stop sectarian campaigns: Call on actors to cease public incitement speech, monitor social media platforms, and refer those responsible for incitement broadcasts to accountability.
Release arbitrarily detained persons or bring them to fair trials.
Compensate victims and restore properties: Establish mechanisms for compensating victims, returning seized properties, and holding those who took them accountable.
Call on international organizations (United Nations, regional human rights bodies) to send rapid fact-finding missions.
Rights Monitor (Human Rights Monitor Platform in Syria)
