Syrian court sentences two to death over 2025 coastal violence
News Source
β’Thu, 15 Oct 2026 15:19:18 +0000
π° What Happened
A court in Aleppo, Syria, sentenced two supporters of the ousted Bashar al-Assad government to death. State media said they were convicted of trying to stir up civil war and sectarian fighting, and of leading armed gangs. Separately, the court jailed members of the new government's security forces for killing civilians, including a 20-year sentence for intentional homicide and three years for torture.
π The Backstory
After Assad's government fell at the end of 2024, his loyalists fled to the mountains. In March 2025 they began an uprising in Syria's coastal, mostly Alawite region. At least 1,426 people, most of them civilians, were killed in days of sectarian violence. A government committee identified 298 suspects and said troops sent in as reinforcements carried out revenge killings.
The court has also issued verdicts in other cases from the same events, including one death sentence.
π― Why It Matters
This is the first time people linked to the new government have been put on trial for violence. The cases test whether Syria's new rulers will hold their own forces to account. That matters a great deal for the country's fragile peace, and for minority groups such as the Alawites, who want to know they will be protected.
A court in Aleppo, Syria, sentenced two supporters of the ousted Bashar al-Assad government to death. State media said they were convicted of trying to stir up civil war and sectarian fighting, and of leading armed gangs. Separately, the court jailed members of the new government's security forces for killing civilians, including a 20-year sentence for intentional homicide and three years for torture.
After Assad's government fell at the end of 2024, his loyalists fled to the mountains. In March 2025 they began an uprising in Syria's coastal, mostly Alawite region. At least 1,426 people, most of them civilians, were killed in days of sectarian violence. A government committee identified 298 suspects and said troops sent in as reinforcements carried out revenge killings.
The court has also issued verdicts in other cases from the same events, including one death sentence.
This is the first time people linked to the new government have been put on trial for violence. The cases test whether Syria's new rulers will hold their own forces to account. That matters a great deal for the country's fragile peace, and for minority groups such as the Alawites, who want to know they will be protected.