67 killings reported in Syria in October, mostly sectarian: SOHR
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The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has documented 67 killings across Syria in October, many driven by sectarian or political motives
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Syrian security forces stand guard as residents leave the Sheikh Maqsoud and Achrafieh neighborhoods of Aleppo, Syria, on October 7, 2025, following overnight clashes between Syrian government troops and the Syrian Democratic Forces (AP)
67 people were killed across Syria in October 2025, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported, in what it described as politically-motivated and sectarian killings, reflecting a continued surge in violence and social fragmentation in several provinces.
According to the SOHR’s documentation, the victims included 59 men, seven women, and one child. The highest number of killings was recorded in Homs province with 20 fatalities (15 men, 4 women, and one child), followed by Aleppo with 12, and Hama with 11 (all men).
Damascus countryside saw 8 killings (7 men and one woman), followed by Idlib with 6 (4 men, 2 women), Latakia with 5, Tartous and Daraa 2 each, and Damascus 1.
The observatory indicated that a significant portion of the killings were carried out on sectarian grounds. These included 18 cases in Homs, five in Damascus countryside, three in Hama, Latakia, and Idlib each, one in Aleppo, two in Tartous and Daraa each, in addition to one in Damascus and Aleppo.
Targeted assassinations and political attacks
The month-long tally included a string of targeted assassinations, kidnappings, and field executions committed by unknown assailants across government- and opposition-held areas alike. Several of the victims were civilians, former security personnel, or individuals accused of past affiliations with state institutions.
In one case, an agricultural engineer, Dr. Haidar Younes Shahin, was assassinated inside his home in Tartous’ Miar Shaker village by an unidentified gunman. Shahin, a PhD holder and former director of the Damage Compensation Fund, was described by locals as a leading figure in his field.
Abductions, assassinations
In western Hama, three brothers were abducted from their home and later found executed along a main road. In Homs province, several Christians and Alawites were killed in separate shootings and home invasions, including the fatal attack on two Christian men outside the village of Anaz.
Other incidents involved the kidnapping and murder of a transport engineer from Masyaf, whose tortured body was found in Daraa, and the beheading of a Shiite resident of Foua after his family failed to pay ransom.
The SOHR detailed additional attacks throughout the month, including the murder of a woman in Damascus’ Husseiniyeh area, several field executions in Hama and Idlib, and repeated drive-by shootings targeting members of minority communities or former army personnel in Aleppo, Homs, and Latakia.
Read more: 2 killed, 11 injured in armed attack on passenger bus in Syria
Sectarian, political motives deepen fragmentation
These recurring political and sectarian crimes, the report said, represent an ongoing pattern of retaliatory violence. Victims were often targeted due to their sectarian identity, Alawite, Shiite, Druze, or Christian, or their past association with government or political activity.
Such acts, the report added, amount to serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights principles, further undermining social stability and civilian safety across Syria.
The SOHR emphasized that the absence of accountability and the growing prevalence of armed groups and local militias have enabled a cycle of retaliatory violence that threatens the fragile civil order.
Read more: UN expresses concern over massacres, human rights violations in Syria
