Apparently 39 dead after acts of revenge – Assad supporters among the victims

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Lerato Khumalo

Many victims were Assad supporters

Acts of revenge in Syria: Apparently 39 dead

January 27, 2025 – 2:50 p.mReading time: 1 min.

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Ruins and a cemetery in Damascus (symbolic image): Several people were apparently executed. (Source: Sebastian Gollnow/dpa/dpa-bilder)

The situation in Syria remains tense after the change of power. Apparently there were numerous executions there.

According to activists, at least 39 people have been killed in suspected revenge attacks in Syria. The victims included members of religious minorities and supporters of the ruler Bashar al-Assad, who was overthrown in December, reported the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights based in Great Britain. The acts of violence took place around the Syrian city of Homs and were said to have been carried out by members of unspecified “militant groups”.

In this context, the Observatory spoke of executions, arbitrary mass arrests and “humiliation and indignity”. The activists called for an immediate end to the violence, which began in the middle of last week. The exact identity of the perpetrators is unclear. According to the Observatory, these are not supporters of the new interim government.

The observatory relies on a network of informants in Syria. The information could not initially be independently verified.

At the beginning of January, the public execution of a local mayor in Syria had already fueled concerns about acts of revenge against former supporters of Assad. Members of the security forces of the interim government led by the Islamist organization HTS killed the man.

During her visit to Syria, Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) also warned against sliding into a new system of injustice. Respecting human rights in Syria is the prerequisite for financial support from Europe and the lifting of sanctions.