Killing of citizen “Mudee’ Hamoud” by gunmen in the Hama countryside amid escalating systematic arrest campaigns against citizens from the Alawite sect
On 12 January 2026, masked gunmen stormed the home of the citizen Mudee’ Hamoud, who is from the Alawite sect, and opened fire on him directly in front of his wife and children, leading to his immediate death. Sources reported that the attackers were riding a motorcycle.
The sources stated that the attack occurred at the victim’s home in the village of Al-Shaṭḥa in the countryside of Hama Governorate.
This crime comes in the context of an increase in criminal incidents targeting civilians from the Alawite sect in the area, amid local demands to restore security, pursue those responsible for these crimes, and bring them to justice.
Documentation of killings and systematic arrest campaigns against citizens from the Alawite sect in the Syrian coast, central regions, and the Damascus countryside
In a related context, the forces of the temporary authority “Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham” in Syria are carrying out systematic arrest campaigns against citizens from the Alawite sect in the governorates of Latakia, Tartus, Homs, and Hama, in addition to areas in the Damascus countryside, specifically targeting participants in the peaceful demonstrations that have taken place recently.
Large areas of the Syrian coast and central regions have witnessed, since late December 2025, a notable escalation in human rights violations, represented by arbitrary arrest campaigns, cases of death under torture, and arrests on sectarian grounds, carried out by forces affiliated with the temporary authority, represented by “Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham” and its security arms known as the “General Security.”
This coincided with the outbreak of peaceful demonstrations in a number of cities and areas, during which civilians—most of them from the Alawite sect—expressed their protest against what they described as escalating violations, including arrest, kidnapping, killing, and dismissal from jobs, in addition to a bombing that targeted the Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque in the city of Homs, resulting in deaths and injuries, all of them from the same sect.
Arrest campaigns intensified in parallel with the events that took place in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods, which have a Kurdish majority, in the city of Aleppo, during the period from Tuesday 6 January 2026 until the evening of Saturday 10 January 2026, following the temporary authority’s control over the entire area after clashes with local Kurdish forces. During that period, the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood was subjected to heavy and repeated shelling, accompanied by widespread violations including field executions and arrests affecting hundreds of Kurdish civilians, particularly men.
– Death of a young man under torture in Tartus Governorate
On 8 January 2026, General Security forces arrested three young men from the village of Ayn Balouj in the Dreibikish area – Tartus Governorate, without presenting legal arrest warrants and without clarifying the reasons for the arrest. The following day, the family of Muhammad Mahmoud Ali was informed to report to the Dreibikish National Hospital to receive his body, following his death in detention, under circumstances indicating that he had been subjected to torture.
The fate of the other detainees, Ali Malham and Diya Hussein, remains unknown.
Muhammad Mahmoud Ali
– Arrests on the background of protesting in the Hama countryside
On 7 January 2026, General Security forces carried out a raid campaign on the homes of citizens from the Alawite sect in the town of Salhab – Al-Ghab Plain, Hama countryside, and arrested a number of participants in peaceful demonstrations. Among the detainees whose names are known:
Musab Rajouh – Ali Rajouh – Muhammad Zeitoun – Ahmad Al-Ajoubi – Bahaa Al-Radwan
Some of them were charged with offenses including raising the photo of the late Sheikh Shaaban Mansour.
Additional arrests: Local sources reported the arrest of other young men from the village of Al-Saqlia, administratively affiliated to the town of Salhab, namely: Firas Fadel, Yaqub Fadel, and Muhammad Fadel.
– Killing of a man during an attempt to forcibly arrest him in Dreibikish
On 6 January 2026, Muhammad Shaker, from the Alawite sect in the Dreibikish area – Tartus Governorate, was killed during an attempt by General Security to forcibly arrest him, without presenting a judicial warrant or bringing official charges, on a background described as sectarian. Multiple accounts reported that members of the force beat him, insulted him, and insulted the Alawite sect during the arrest attempt, but that he (the victim) resisted General Security elements.
Muhammad Shaker
The documented facts above indicate a recurring pattern of grave human rights violations, including arbitrary arrest, death under torture, and the targeting of civilians on sectarian grounds or because of their participation in peaceful demonstrations. The fate of a large number of detainees in Latakia, Jableh, Tartus, and Homs remains unknown, amid the continued arrest campaigns and their expanding geographic and temporal scope.
