Amnesty International condemns Syria coastal massacre as ‘war crimes’, holds Syrian Transitional Government responsible

LONDON — In a damning report, Amnesty International has classified the recent violence in Syria’s coastal region as “war crimes,” holding the Syrian Transitional Government (STG) directly responsible for the bloodshed.

In the report, Amnesty stated that pro-government militias killed more than 100 people in the coastal city of Baniyas on 8–9 March 2025.

According to verified accounts obtained by Amnesty, at least 32 victims were deliberately executed, with attackers specifically targeting Alawite civilians. Witnesses reported that armed fighters interrogated individuals about their sectarian identity, asking if they were Alawite before issuing threats or executing them.

The report also revealed that authorities forced victims’ families to bury their loved ones in mass graves, denying them proper funeral rites or religious ceremonies — a violation of basic human dignity and the rights of the bereaved.

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Agnes Callamard, Secretary-General of Amnesty International, condemned the killings as “deliberate, cold-blooded executions that amount to war crimes,” calling for immediate accountability for those responsible.

“The absence of justice risks plunging Syria into yet another cycle of atrocities and bloodshed,” she warned.

Callamard urged independent and effective investigations into the massacre, stressing that perpetrators of human rights violations must not hold positions that enable them to commit further crimes. She also emphasized the victims’ right to truth, justice, and reparation.

Sources within the STG are unhappy with the timing of Amnesty’s report, stating that it should have waited until the investigative committee issues its report into the coastal violence on 9 April.