Rights Monitor Syria has documented the injury of four civilians, including a woman in critical condition, following an armed attack targeting the village of Al-Jayyed in the Sahl al-Ghab area of western Hama countryside at noon on June 23, 2026. This incident raises growing concerns regarding civilian safety and the persistence of violations carrying sectarian dimensions in the region.
According to cross-referenced information obtained by Rights Monitor Syria from local and media sources, gunmen directly opened fire at civilian residents in the village of Al-Jayyed. The attack resulted in the injury of Nader Saeed, Mohsen Saad, Issa Marei, and Louda Taha, who was evacuated to a hospital where her health status was described as critical. Sources reported that all the injured individuals belong to the Murshidi community.
Furthermore, circulated surveillance camera footage showed patrols belonging to the General Security passing through the village, immediately followed by the arrival of gunmen who proceeded to open fire at civilians.
The principles of International Human Rights Law (IHRL) and International Humanitarian Law (IHL) affirm the imperative of protecting civilians from acts of violence and direct targeting. They also underscore the obligation to conduct independent and effective investigations into all attacks resulting in casualties among the civilian population, thereby ensuring the truth is revealed, perpetrators are held accountable, and redress is provided to the victims.
An Escalating Context of Violations in Hama Governorate
The incident in Al-Jayyed village comes amid a series of security incidents and violations witnessed across Hama Governorate during the month of June 2026, which have impacted civilians from diverse religious and sectarian backgrounds.
On June 22, 2026, a citizen named Saleh Ibrahim, belonging to the Alawite community, was killed, and another civilian was severely injured in an attack carried out by two gunmen riding a motorcycle in front of a commercial shop in the village of Al-Khandaq, located in the Sahl al-Ghab area of the Hama countryside, according to cross-referenced local information.
On the same day, university student Laith Ayman Othman—a student at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Hama University who hails from the city of Qardaha—was injured after being fired upon by unidentified gunmen near Hama University. While local sources spoke of potential sectarian motives behind the targeting, Hama University denied that the incident took place inside the university campus, and no results of any official investigation have been announced to date.
Rights Monitor Syria also documented the killing of a citizen, Mohammad Ali Al-Jardi, who belonged to the Alawite community, during a raid conducted by personnel belonging to the General Security in the city of Salhab in the western Hama countryside at midnight on June 17, 2026. Accounts conflicted regarding the circumstances of his death; local testimonies stated he was shot following an altercation with patrol members, while other sources indicated that a clash broke out during the execution of a security campaign.
In another incident where the outcome remains unknown, contact was lost with a citizen named Alaa Khalil Khabbaza—originating from the city of Salamiyah and belonging to the Ismaili community—since the evening of June 14, 2026, after he was last seen returning from the village of Al-Saan in the Salamiyah countryside. No confirmed information regarding his whereabouts or fate is available so far.
These successive incidents point to the ongoing threats faced by civilians in Hama Governorate, amid mounting fears over the recurrence of killings, injuries, abductions, and disappearances, alongside accompanying allegations of sectarian motives or dimensions in some cases.
Rights Monitor Syria calls upon the competent authorities to launch independent and transparent investigations into all these incidents, disclose their findings to the public, ensure that those responsible for any proven violations are held accountable, and implement effective measures to protect civilians and prevent the recurrence of such violations, in alignment with Syria’s obligations under International Human Rights Law.
