The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has reported that nearly 10,000 people have been violently killed in Syria since Ahmad al-Sharaa, a former ISIS commander and leader of the former al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), seized power in Damascus in December 2024.

Sharaa rose to power after toppling the government of longtime Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. His takeover was initially met with praise in some circles, with The Telegraph in the UK describing HTS in one article as “diversity friendly jihadists.” However, according to SOHR, his rule has been marked by a surge in killings, particularly targeting Syria’s religious and ethnic minority communities.

In its 7 August report, SOHR stated that “due to ongoing violence and violations by local and foreign actors, coupled with widespread security chaos,” at least 9,889 people have died since the fall of Damascus on 8 December 2024. The group said that civilians made up the majority of the dead — 7,449 in total — including 396 children and 541 women.

SOHR accused Syria’s security forces and allied armed groups of carrying out mass killings with no accountability, noting that in some instances “perpetrators are being covered up and facts are being distorted.” It cited the example of a fact-finding committee formed to investigate the massacre of roughly 1,600 Alawite civilians in Syria’s coastal regions in March. The committee’s findings, SOHR said, “did not provide results consistent with the facts” and were released while government forces and allied factions were committing new massacres, including against Druze civilians in Suwayda.

Pro-government media outlets have simultaneously run campaigns to discredit those documenting human rights abuses. These campaigns often use sectarian language, branding Alawites as “remnants of the regime” of Assad, Druze as “collaborators” with Israel, and Kurds as “separatists.”

SOHR noted that in numerous videos shared online, fighters affiliated with Syrian government forces are seen referring to Alawites and Druze as “pigs” before executing them in homes and on the streets.

The rights group also reported that thousands remain in detention without trial or due process. Many of these detainees were arrested either after Assad’s fall or during raids and at security checkpoints. SOHR said many have no clear charges against them and remain arbitrarily held.

On 5 August, SOHR highlighted renewed calls from families of kidnapped civilians demanding authorities reveal the fate of young Alawite men abducted during the March coastal massacres. These missing men came from villages including Hmeimim, Bustan al-Basha, Al-Qabo, and Al-Sanober. According to relatives who spoke to SOHR activists, armed groups stormed homes and took the men to undisclosed locations without arrest warrants or explanations. Despite repeated appeals, Syrian authorities have not provided information on their whereabouts.