Earlier this year, on March 6 – just months after the fall of Al Assad’s regime – Assad loyalists launched a major offensive against Syrian government forces in the coastal governorates of Latakia and Tartous, aiming to topple the interim government led by Ahmed Al Sharaa. The clashes that followed were among the bloodiest since Al Assad’s regime collapsed, leaving more than 250 security forces members dead.
In the process of suppressing the assault, government forces reportedly committed violations in several Alawite-majority civilian areas, resulting in over 1,500 civilian deaths, according to a Reuters investigation. The violence revived fears of civil war and sectarian division.
In response, a presidential decree established an independent National Committee for Investigation and Fact-Finding to examine the events on the Syrian coast (a region widely referred to as the Sahel). Today, nearly eight months later, 14 individuals have stood trial in Aleppo Governorate – half are former regime loyalists accused of violations against security forces, while the other seven are members of the current national security forces, charged with abuses against civilians.
Notably, earlier today, the spokesperson for the National Committee Yasser Al Farhan announced that 563 individuals have been referred to trial for their involvement in the Sahel events. Of these, 298 are accused of committing abuses against civilians, while 265 face charges of attacking security forces, the army, and government facilities.
Farhan described the trials as a step toward delivering justice and preventing potential revenge attacks. Victims, their families, and communities will have the opportunity to participate by providing additional information, either publicly or confidentially, according to their preference. The trials will be broadcast publicly, focusing on the most urgent and prioritized crimes.
Parallel judicial proceedings are also underway in southern Syria’s Suwayda governorate – where similar eruptions of sectarian and state violence took place in July.
Syrian Minister of Justice Mazhar Al Wais confirmed that authorities will hold public trials for those accused of violations during the July clashes, which left hundreds dead and injured.
The National Commission for the Investigation of the Suwayda events announced the detention of several individuals affiliated with the Ministries of Defense and Interior, referring them to the judiciary for committing “violations” during the bloodshed.
Syrians are closely following these trials and raising an important question: will these proceedings mark the close of a bloody chapter and the start of a true transitional justice phase, or are they a reluctant response from the interim government to international pressure? With the trial of the 14 accused in the Syrian coast clashes postponed to December, these questions remain open-ended for now.
