The young man Diyoub Mohammad Diyoub, 33 years old and from the village of Al-Khandaq in the Al-Ghab Plain area in rural Hama, western Syria, was shot in the head after being directly fired upon by an armed group. He was transferred to Hama National Hospital, where his medical condition remains unstable at the time of preparing this report.
The victim hails from the village of Al-Khandaq in the Al-Ghab Plain and belongs to the Alawite sect. He was shot on December 7, 2025, in one of the latest incidents targeting civilians against the backdrop of escalating communal tensions in the area.
The assault occurred when an armed group directly targeted the young man, causing his severe head injury. The motives behind the attack are not yet clear.
This incident comes as part of a series of killings, kidnappings, and armed attacks that have targeted individuals from various minorities in several areas, amid the growing rhetoric of hatred and sectarian, religious, and ethnic incitement in Syria. These conditions have worsened with the escalation of societal division and the expansion of the cycle of violence, coinciding with Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham’s consolidation of control over the country and the absence of effective accountability mechanisms for those responsible for incitement or participation in these assaults, most of whom are close to the interim authority.
This incident highlights the level of danger facing civilians—especially those belonging to minorities—amid ongoing security chaos and the rise of identity-based violence.
