The first anniversary of the events in the Syrian coast falls in March 2025. These events began on March 6, 2025, with coordinated attacks by remnants of the former regime on security and military sites of the interim government. They quickly escalated into a widespread wave of retaliatory sectarian violence that claimed the lives of many civilians, mostly Alawites uninvolved in any military or political activity.
The events began on March 6, 2025, with simultaneous attacks in the governorates of Latakia (Jableh and its surroundings), Tartus, and the rural areas of Hama and Homs. Public security checkpoints and military forces were targeted, resulting in the deaths of between 200 and 273 security and military personnel, according to estimates by the Syrian Network for Human Rights.
Some of the remnants announced temporary control over limited areas, in a clear attempt to incite sectarian strife or reignite the conflict. This persistent threat from remnants of the former regime demands unequivocal acknowledgment: organized networks, supported by external arms and funding, seek to exploit sectarian divisions to undermine the nascent state.
Ignoring this threat jeopardizes national stability and requires a decisive security and legal response without impunity.
However, no security threat can justify the sectarian abuses that occurred in the following days, particularly between March 7 and 9, 2025, when the response escalated into systematic violence in dozens of predominantly Alawite villages and neighborhoods. This included summary executions, the burning of homes, the looting of property, and the targeting of innocent civilians based solely on their sectarian identity.
These crimes have been meticulously documented:
- The National Commission of Inquiry (established on March 9, 2025) confirmed in its final report (July 2025) the deaths of 1,426 people, mostly Alawite civilians, including at least 90 women, in at least 33 locations.
- A Reuters investigation (June 2025) found approximately 1,479 Alawite martyrs in 40 locations over three days.
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (opposed to the interim government) documented between 1,659 and 1,700 civilians (in addition to Alawite fighters).
- The Syrian Network for Human Rights recorded 803 extrajudicial killings between March 6 and 10, including 39 children and 49 women.
- The UN Commission of Inquiry (August 2025) described the violence as “widespread and systematic,” and potentially amounting to war crimes.
The interim government acknowledged the existence of abuses and violations, with President Ahmed al-Sharaa declaring in March 2025 that “no one is above the law,” and forming an independent commission of inquiry the day after the first attacks.
The commission referred the names of 298 suspected members of armed factions to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, detained dozens of individuals (including 42 from the Ministry of Defense), and began preliminary public trials in November 2025 for 14 defendants, with over 80 other suspects remaining in detention.
We believe that these measures, while still in their early stages and requiring strengthening and continuity, represent evidence of the new state’s beginning to break with the pattern of systematic denial and impunity that characterized the ousted Assad regime.
This event is reminiscent of John Rawls’s principle of the “veil of ignorance,” which advocates for a justice system built without prior knowledge of sectarian or social affiliation to ensure fair proceedings for all.
It also aligns with the higher Islamic principle expressed in the verse: “And no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another” (Al-An’am 6:164), which rejects holding an entire group responsible for the sins of individuals and emphasizes individual accountability. Acknowledging crimes and holding perpetrators accountable—whether remnants of the old regime or rogue elements within or outside the security apparatus—is not a sign of weakness, but rather a testament to moral integrity and institutional strength. It is the only way to break the cycle of violence fueled by decades of impunity.
Therefore, we in the Syrian Future Movement propose transforming the period from March 6 to 10 (or symbolically March 8, coinciding with International Women’s Day, which commemorates the victims among women and children) into a unifying national day of remembrance to honor the innocent victims:
Security personnel who died defending the state (200-273).
Innocent Alawite civilians (more than 1,400-1,700).
We also recommend establishing a quiet annual public commemoration that includes joint memorial services, awareness-raising events, and broad participation from all Syrian communities, in support of national unity and justice.
Turning a blind eye to the crimes of the remnants of the old regime or to sectarian violations against Alawite civilians; This is extremely dangerous because it perpetuates the impunity that has devastated the country and undermines trust in state institutions.
Therefore, comprehensive transitional justice must be strengthened through:
- A thorough and transparent accountability process for all those involved.
- Compensation for victims and rehabilitation for those affected.
- Reform of the security and military apparatus to ensure discipline and respect for human rights.
Social reconciliation programs and education that reject sectarianism and reinforce a shared national identity.
Syria today faces an existential test. Will we transform our national wound into a lesson that builds a strong, unified state, or will we allow the strife to continue?
The answer lies in a full and impartial acknowledgment of the facts and a collective commitment to a future that protects every citizen, regardless of their affiliation.
The innocent victims deserve justice and honor, and the nation deserves to transcend its bloody past through acknowledgment, moving towards a shared and lasting peace.
