<h2><strong>Introduction</strong></h2><p>This report comes to support various documentation efforts of the human rights violations and crimes committed in several locations on the Syrian coast in the period between 6 and 11 March 2025, including mass killing, looting and vandalism of private properties and degrading treatment, mainly against civilians on a sectarian basis. The events started on March 6 with coordinated attacks by groups of Assad loyalists on checkpoints and other locations of the new Syrian Army and the General Security Department, killing at least 200 government-aligned forces. &nbsp;As a response, thousands of armed men went to the coast, including government-mobilized armed forces from the Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Interior, and armed civilians from all around Syria who responded to general mobilization and jihad calls from within their own communities. Over the following several days this resulted in mass killings and violations of human rights targeting mainly civilians from the Alawite minority, a religious sect of two million persons that Bashar Al-Assad belonged to. Various reports and documentation efforts put the number of victims between one and two thousand, including women, children and persons with disabilities. A government-formed investigative committee is expected to release its findings in July.</p><figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:1165/722;" src="https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/Screenshot_From_2025_07_08_13_25_43_14170b77be.png" alt="Screenshot From 2025-07-08 13-25-43.png" srcset="https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/thumbnail_Screenshot_From_2025_07_08_13_25_43_14170b77be.png 245w,https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/small_Screenshot_From_2025_07_08_13_25_43_14170b77be.png 500w,https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/medium_Screenshot_From_2025_07_08_13_25_43_14170b77be.png 750w,https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/large_Screenshot_From_2025_07_08_13_25_43_14170b77be.png 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="1165" height="722"><figcaption>A map showing military factions’ mobilization between 6 and 11 March 2025. Red markers are indications of locations that have been geolocated based on landmarks visible in visual materials. Yellow markers are indications of locations as mentioned in original posts without further verification. Created by Syrian Archive on July 8, 2025</figcaption></figure><p>This report compiles available open-source information on various military factions and groups that mobilized to the coast during that time period, relying on open-source information collected mainly from social media sites. The report does not aim to establish attribution and responsibility of crimes, nor does it connect specific actors to incidents; it seeks however to enrich the knowledge and information collected by various human rights organizations and investigative bodies, and enhance evidence-based documentation efforts.</p><h2><strong>Observations</strong></h2><p>As news of violations spread across Syria in the wake of the coordinated insurgent attacks on March 6, many locals began to attribute crimes to units of the Syrian National Army (SNA). The SNA units referenced here are technically under the command of the Ministry of Defense. However, the integration process of these units is ongoing and many of the groups still utilize their former group names, make reference to their commanders, and display other SNA group identifiers. For example, Abu Amsha (Mohammed al-Jassem)'s faction The Suleiman Shah Division, has officially been transformed into the 62nd Division but combatants often refer to the Suleman Shah Division or show insignia with the group's former name in their social media posts. While nearly all current SNA factions reported deployment to the coast, it is beyond the scope of this report to document any potential violations.</p><p>This report also includes information on units from at least eight divisions belonging to or seemingly affiliated with HTS or to new Ministry of Defense divisions. Some of these units were already deployed in the coast while others arrived after the insurgent attacks began. HTS’s close allies, the factions of the NLF, likewise sent units or were already deployed in the coast.</p><p>Importantly, this report also documents the potentially wide-spread involvement of potentially independent or non-government-affiliated individuals and at least one example of a previously active Free Syrian Army group which appeared to re-mobilize and go to the coast. This independent mobilization also appeared to include many members of tribes and clans, particularly from the east. However it was not just “tribal” fighters who self-mobilized. This report also shows that many communities in rural Damascus sent fighters to the coast as well, either as part of pre-existing armed factions or as local community factions mobilized in the wake of the insurgent attacks.</p><p>The breadth of armed factions and civilians who went to the coast between March 6 and March 7 makes attribution for specific crimes difficult, and beyond the scope of this report. However, this report underscores two key lessons. First, the inability of the new government to control armed factions and armed individuals from self-mobilizing and committing crimes - if indeed these were independent acts - severely undermines the authority of the new state and the security of all Syrian people. Second, the obscurity of the perpetrators of these crimes only further undermines the new government, and it only emphasizes the need for the government’s recently formed investigative body to provide a transparent and genuine report of what happened and hold all perpetrators to account.</p><h3>View the full report via the <a href="https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/Factions_Mobilization_Report_Final_En_080725_8ce101f0ea.pdf">link</a>.</h3>

A Report Based on Open-Source Information

Armed Factions' Mobilization to the Syrian Coast in March 2025 

INVESTIGATIONS

Armed Factions' Mobilization to the Syrian Coast in March 2025

Table Of Contents

.css-68jq5d{padding-bottom:1.45rem;color:#ffffff;-webkit-transition:0.25s;transition:0.25s;}.css-68jq5d:hover{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}INVESTIGATIONS

Armed Factions' Mobilization to the Syrian Coast in March 2025

Table Of Contents

INVESTIGATIONS