US holds Syrian government forces responsible for massacres in West
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The US Office of the Director of National Intelligence linked the massacres in western Syria to government forces and armed groups, with over 1,000 killed.
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Syrian government forces deployed amid heightened security in Damascus, Syria, on March 6, 2025. (AP)
The US Office of the Director of National Intelligence reported that massacres in western Syria are attributed to both Syrian interim government forces and armed groups.
In its 2025 Annual Threat Assessment report released on Tuesday, the agency stated that forces from the HTS-led interim government, along with elements of Hurras al-Din and other armed groups, were involved in violence and extrajudicial killings in northwestern Syria in early March 2025, primarily targeting religious minorities, leading to the deaths of at least 1,500 people, including Alawite and Christian civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The report also highlighted that the power shift in Syria has fostered conditions for prolonged instability, which could aid in the resurgence of the Islamic State (ISIS) and other extremist terror groups.
The report also mentioned that some terrorist groups in Syria are refusing to join the new government forces, with ISIS already opposing the HTS’ call for democracy and planning attacks to undermine its governance.
Violence across Latakia and surrounding areas spread following clashes between government security forces and fighters allegedly affiliated with the former regime of Bashar al-Assad, a war monitor reported on March 7.
The Syrian Ministry of Defense announced that the "military operation" on the coastal line had been concluded on March 10, claiming that it eradicated the former regime's cells and members across Tartus and Latakia, noting that an alleged investigation was underway to look into the recent events and ensure justice for the victims.
During the operation, several massacres were committed against minorities, prompting Syria’s transitional leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, to vow an investigation to hold accountable those responsible, stressing that anyone exceeding their authority will face consequences.
The attacks in northwestern Syria have displaced thousands belonging to the Alawite minority group, many of whom told The New York Times harrowing accounts of their experience as armed forces reached their villages.
According to the latest data from the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 1,500 civilians were killed in the violence, including 1,400 members of the Alawite community.
However, on March 21, 72 people were killed across Syria in 24 hours in a series of bloody assassinations targeting both civilians and military personnel, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
The Observatory stated that 58 of the victims were killed in the countrysides of Tartus and Latakia, noting that the assassinations in these areas were carried out by armed groups affiliated with the General Security and Syrian military factions.
The remaining killings took place across the provinces of Aleppo, Daraa, Deir Ezzor, Damascus, and Homs, although no further details were provided on the perpetrators in these areas.
These developments come amid the growing sense of lawlessness in areas under the Syrian government's control, with accusations directed at security agencies and pro-government militants for being behind the ongoing wave of assassinations.
