1,426 killed in March; commanders not blamed: Syrian committee
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A Syrian government fact-finding committee reports 1,426 deaths in March 2025 due to attacks on security forces and "retaliatory violence" against Alawites in the coastal region.
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Yaser Farhan, spokesperson for the Syrian investigation committee tasked with probing massacres of the Alawite minority along the Syrian coast, holds a press conference in Damascus, Syria, March 11, 2025. (AP)
A Syrian government fact-finding committee reported on Tuesday that 1,426 people were killed in March during what it considered were attacks on security forces and subsequent "retaliatory violence" against Alawites, while stating that its investigation found no evidence commanders had ordered the revenge attacks.
The coastal region witnessed the deadliest violence in Syria since the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad last year, with the fact-finding committee's investigation serving as a crucial challenge for the new leadership, largely composed of former anti-Assad state-affiliated militants amid fresh unrest this month involving other minority groups in the southwest.
The committee found that Syrian commanders had not issued orders to carry out violations and had instead allegedly directed troops to stop them, while identifying 298 suspects involved in abuses against Alawites and 265 individuals linked to the initial attack on security forces, according to committee head Jumaa al-Anzi.
According to spokesperson Yasser Farhan, the names of suspects have not been publicly released yet as they've been forwarded to judicial authorities for additional investigation, while noting that 31 individuals involved in violations against civilians and six described as "remnants" of the previous regime have already been detained.
Widespread massacres, unorganized chaos
According to Farhan, the violence erupted on March 6 with coordinated assaults against Syrian security forces in the region, disrupting hospital operations and state services while causing significant territorial losses for government forces as multiple areas slipped from state control.
Farhan claimed the committee determined that 238 security force members were killed in attacks carried out by factions allegedly linked to the former Assad government, while stating that approximately 200,000 armed men subsequently mobilized from various parts of Syria and converged on the coastal region in response.
He added that this resulted in widespread but uncoordinated violations, including killings, theft, and sectarian incitement, according to the committee's findings.
Committee faces criticism
The Supreme Alawite Council strongly criticized the committee's findings in a Tuesday statement, denouncing it as an "impudent play" while rejecting the conclusions and attributing responsibility for March's deadly attacks to the "de facto authority" of Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and his government.
The council demanded an impartial international investigation conducted under direct UN supervision.
A Reuters investigation last month documented 1,479 Syrian Alawites killed and dozens missing across 40 separate revenge attack locations, while uncovering a command structure linking the assailants directly to individuals currently serving alongside Syria's new leadership in Damascus.
Syria's new leadership, which rose from the anti-Assad insurgency, has repeatedly pledged to protect minorities, but fresh violence in Sweida province saw hundreds killed in clashes between security forces and Sunni Bedouin, on the one side, and Druze militants, on the other, prompting authorities to form a new fact-finding committee.
Amnesty International's Syria researcher Diana Semaan urged authorities to disclose the complete investigation results and ensure accountability for those responsible for the violations.
"In terms of the fact-finding committee, acknowledging that atrocities against Alawite civilians happened is an important step towards justice," she told Reuters, adding, "[But] without the proper prosecution of perpetrators, then we have impunity. It won't be the justice and accountability that the victims deserve."
