The Rights Monitor platform has documented that the Electricity Company in Homs Governorate, western Syria, terminated the contracts of 57 of its employees, pursuant to a nominal list comprising 57 individuals that was circulated on 6 February 2026. According to the available information, the majority of those dismissed are members of the Alawite community, giving rise to serious concerns that these decisions may form part of a broader pattern of employment termination based on discriminatory grounds.
The circulated list contained the names of 57 employees whose contracts were terminated at the Homs Electricity Company without the announcement of clear, individualized disciplinary reasons, and without any indication of the existence of effective legal avenues for appeal or objection. As of the date of publication of this report, no transparent professional or administrative criteria have been disclosed to justify these decisions.
This incident occurs within a broader context observed during January and February 2026, during which a marked escalation was recorded in decisions to dismiss employees and workers from Syrian public institutions. These decisions were issued by the interim authority (Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham) and were particularly concentrated in the governorates of Latakia, Tartous, and Hama. According to corroborated information, they disproportionately targeted employees from the Alawite community.
These decisions have included, inter alia:
The dismissal of 198 employees from the General Electricity Establishment directorates in Latakia Governorate on 4 February 2026.
The dismissal of 309 employees from the Agriculture Directorates in Latakia on 26 January 2026, including 100 contract employees working at the Ciano Research Center.
Dismissal decisions affecting medical staff at the Masyaf Hospital in the Hama countryside on 24 January 2026.
Recurrent protests and sit-ins by teachers in Latakia and Tartous during the same period, in response to dismissal decisions or measures perceived as preparatory steps toward indirect dismissal.
Available data indicate that these decisions are concentrated in areas with a predominantly Alawite population, target vital sectors (electricity, agriculture, health, and education), and are often implemented without announced disciplinary procedures or sufficient legal safeguards. According to preliminary circulating reports, the number of dismissed employees and workers from the Alawite community across various governorates and sectors has exceeded 10,000 individuals to date.
The termination of the contracts of 57 employees at the Homs Electricity Company constitutes an additional indicator of the use of employment dismissal as a tool of collective exclusion on a sectarian basis, posing a threat to social cohesion and undermining the economic and social rights of a broad segment of Syrian citizens. This situation calls for the opening of an independent and transparent investigation, and for ensuring effective legal remedies and reparations for those affected.
