Post Assad … Before Building the State
Violations in Syria’s Coast and Hama – March 2025
This report comes in the context of efforts to document the grave human rights violations and crimes committed in areas in the Syrian coast and in Hama in March 2025. These included patterns of systematic violence, such as extrajudicial killings, widespread destruction, and the looting of private property, most of which were committed on a sectarian basis.
The report offers a preliminary analysis grounded in testimonies and information gathered and verified by the documentation team at the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM) in accordance with the international standards for documentation of human rights violations. It aims to support accountability efforts and uncover the truth by supporting the work of the Governmental Investigation Committee on the Events on the Syrian Coast, announced after the events, and ensuring that all victims receive effective redress. The report is not intended to be a substitute for criminal investigations, nor does it seek to determine the individual criminal responsibility of the perpetrators of the violations. It also does not claim to provide a comprehensive or definitive narrative. Instead, it seeks to compile and analyze the available information, serving as a starting point for further investigation and ensuring that these violations are not closed without accountability, truth-finding, and reparation.
This report draws on the documentation gathered by SCM’s documentation team regarding the events that occurred in March 2025, particularly between 6 and 9 March, when the most significant number of violations and massacres took place in various areas of Latakia, Tartous, and Hama governorates. The team conducted:
- 15 interviews (7 women and 8 men) with family members of victims and eyewitnesses, from Tartous Governorate, Baniyas City, and the villages of Sanobar, Bustan Al-Basha, and Ad-Dalia, in addition to members of the General Security, journalists, and four statements. Testimonies were documented between March 12 and April 15, 2025.
- The team communicated with more than 227 sources from communities affected by the violations, both online and in person, and received dozens of direct reports through its dedicated online mechanism for reporting human rights violations or via SCM’s official social media accounts.
- Analysis of 187 videos and several photographs gathered from open sources or shared directly with SCM, regarding killings and property destruction, in addition to 45 videos and 20 social media posts containing calls for general mobilization and incitement against the residents of the areas in which the violations took place. Each was technically verified using specialized digital tools and in accordance with international standards to assess its reliability.
- Review of official statements issued by the Transitional Government, as well as local and international reports issued on the events in the Syrian coast and Hama, and information available from open sources to strengthen the information base and cross-reference it with testimonies.
The documentation team adhered to international documentation standards, including accuracy, impartiality, integrity, objectivity, and the “do no harm” principle, throughout the process of gathering testimonies and verifying information. Names were withheld, and some testimonies were edited at the request and with the consent of the witnesses to remove any indicators that might reveal their identity, ensuring their safety and security while preserving the substance of the violations and related facts.
To view the report in Arabic, please visit the following link: