The file photo shows Western-friendly HTS-led militants in Syria. Photo: PressTV.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based monitor, has documented the violent deaths of nearly 10,000 people in Syria since Western-backed Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, once affiliated with al-Qaeda and Daesh, was installed as president in Damascus.
The SOHR reported on Thursday that “due to ongoing violence by local and foreign militants,” at least 9,889 people had been killed since 8 December 2024, the day Damascus fell under the controversial rule of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militant group.
The SORH said that 7,449 civilians were among the victims, including 396 children and 541 women.
It also stressed that there has been no accountability for killings carried out by members of HTS-affiliated armed factions.
This is while “in some cases, perpetrators are being covered up and facts are being distorted.”
The SOHR noted, for example, that the fact-finding committee formed to investigate the massacre of roughly 1,600 Alawite civilians in Syria’s coastal regions in March “did not provide results consistent with the facts.”
This happened while HTS-led forces and affiliated factions were carrying out new massacres of Druze civilians in Suwayda.
At the same time, pro-HTS media campaigns have been launched to deflect from the massacres by calling Alawites “remnants” of the former government of President Bashar al-Assad.
In many videos posted online, HTS-affiliated militants regularly refer to both Alawites and Druze as “pigs” before executing them in their homes and on the street.
The UK-based monitor stated as well that thousands of detainees – who have not had a proper trial or been allowed to appear before a judge – remain in prison.
Among the detainees are people arrested after the fall of former President Assad, and others who were arrested during raids or at security checkpoints.
Many of these detainees have no clear charges against them and are being arbitrarily detained without due process.
Media reports earlier said that families of kidnapped civilians renewed calls for HTS authorities to reveal the fate of young Alawite men taken from their homes without charges during the massacres on the coast in March.
The missing detainees are from the villages of Hmeimim, Bustan al-Basha, Al-Qabo, and Al-Sanober.
Families said activists say that armed groups stormed houses and took the young men to an unknown location without explaining the reasons or issuing official arrest warrants.
Since then, HTS-led authorities have provided no information about their fate despite repeated demands from their families.
The tragic report comes after several recent incidents of violence targeting religious minorities, including massacres of Alawites along the country’s coast, clashes with the Druze community in the south and a bombing at an Orthodox church in Damascus.
Since December last year, Jolani’s security forces have gone on a killing spree targeting Syria’s minority groups.
The massacres have raised concerns for the safety of religious and ethnic minorities in the country.
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According to several reports, Syrian forces, dominated by the HTS and other militant groups, have continued to carry out sectarian killings, kidnappings, and persecution across Syria, targeting Alawites and other minorities.
The HTS militant group seized control of Damascus on December 8, 2024, culminating a swift offensive that had begun in the northwestern province of Aleppo just two weeks earlier and ultimately brought an end to President Bashar al-Assad’s 24-year rule.
The HTS administration has since been involved in flagrant violations of human rights in Syria, particularly against minorities, drawing widespread condemnations from the international community.
The Druze minority and Alawite community had a history of supporting the Assad government and standing against Israeli occupation and expansionist policies, including in the occupied Golan Heights.
The UK and EU states have been gradually lifting Syria sanctions since the start of this year.
After the collapse of the al-Assad government last December, Jolani was widely praised by the Western media. An article in the UK’s Telegraph described his armed group, the former al-Qaeda affiliated HTS, as “diversity-friendly militants.”
US President Donald Trump recently announced a decision to lift all sanctions against the al-Jolani administration in exchange for normalizing ties with Israel.
Jolani has assured the US-led Western countries that Syria will “normalize relations” with Israel, recognize the regime, and exchange ambassadors by the end of 2026.
The HTS-led regime will reportedly hand over the occupied Golan Heights to Israel as part of a looming normalization deal with the illegal entity.
(PressTV)
