'Unprecedented violence' sweeps Syria as 35 killed in Homs: SOHR
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A watchdog denounces the mounting violations against civilians in the Homs Province.
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Members of the new Syrian security forces stand outside a security building, in Nawa, near Daraa, Syria, January 4, 2025. (AP)
Over the past three days, 35 Syrians, mostly former officers who had served under the Assad regime, were executed, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
SOHR reported that the executions "follow grave violations and summary executions that had cost the lives of 35 people over the past 72 hours," condemning the "unprecedented level of cruelty and violence" in Syria, including cases of mass arbitrary detentions, abuse, assaults on religious symbols, corpse mutilations, and summary executions targeting civilians.
The report further highlighted that members of religious minorities faced "humiliations," claiming that armed groups exploited their connections with the new Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) government, as well as the instability in Syria, to reportedly settle old grievances against the Alawite minority.
Furthermore, the Civil Peace Group, a civil society organization, denounced the "unjustified violations," including the killing of unarmed men in several villages in Homs during the security operations conducted there.
Press TV also relayed previous reports of mass arrests in the Homs Province, stating that members of a "criminal group" exploited a security sweep to carry out abuses against residents while impersonating security services.
A few days ago, the observatory reported that local armed groups carried out field executions, arbitrary arrests, and attacks on religious symbols. These acts were accompanied by desecration of corpses and extrajudicial killings, described as part of retaliatory measures that left 22 people dead within 72 hours.
In response to the recent military campaign in the Homs countryside, the Community Peace Group issued a statement documenting the violations and acts of violence against civilians.
Read more: New Syrian forces conduct operation targeting two Homs districts
