The female citizen, Um Rami Al-Zaroufi, hailing from the Alawite community, passed away on May 13, 2026, succumbing to severe injuries she sustained on May 4, 2026. This followed an armed attack targeting her and members of her family inside a commercial shop in the Al-Sabil neighborhood of Homs, central Syria. With her passing, the death toll from the attack rises to three family members, following the killing of her husband, Azdashir Al-Khader (Al-Zaroufi), and their son, Ali Al-Zaroufi, at the scene of the attack.
According to available information, unidentified gunmen opened direct fire on the evening of Monday, May 4, 2026, on a commercial shop belonging to citizen Azdashir Al-Khader (Al-Zaroufi) in the Al-Sabil neighborhood of Homs. This resulted in the immediate deaths of him and his son Ali, while Um Rami Al-Zaroufi sustained critical injuries. She was subsequently transferred to a medical facility to receive treatment, before her death was announced after a nine-day struggle with her injuries.
The family belongs to the Alawite community, amid strong indications that the crime was driven by sectarian motives, in light of an increasing number of incidents targeting civilians on religious or sectarian grounds in Homs Governorate recently. Furthermore, sources reported that both prior to and following the incident, the family was subjected to incitement campaigns and hate speech on social media platforms by individuals supportive of the temporary authority.
This incident falls within a series of similar occurrences witnessed by Homs Governorate within a short period of time.
These chronologically close incidents reflect an alarming escalation in the frequency of violence and violations of a sectarian nature in Homs Governorate. This coincides with the ongoing state of security chaos and weak accountability measures, which exacerbates the fears of local residents and threatens civil peace.
Additionally, the rise in incitement and hate speech across digital platforms contributes to fueling societal tensions and increasing the likelihood of retaliatory acts of violence, particularly in the absence of effective measures to curb such discourse or to hold those responsible for it accountable.
The continuation of these violations without effective accountability poses a direct threat to civil peace and undermines the foundations of justice and the rule of law. This warrants urgent action by the relevant authorities to ensure the protection of human rights and to prevent the escalation of violence.
