One Year of the HTS Regime in Syria: Ethnic and Religious Cleansing

One Year of the HTS Regime in Syria: Ethnic and Religious Cleansing

Historical roots of a brutal Ideology

Syria has been gripped by civil war and inhumane violations for 14 years. Nevertheless, the recent violence against minorities (particularly Alevi and Druze communities) constitutes a turning point from bad to the worst. This turning point coincides with the seizure of power in Damascus on 8 December 2024 by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

The HTS regime’s ongoing violence against Alevi and Druze communities in Syria is not the result of a civil war – rather it reflects the resurgence of an ideology of hatred that has been nurtured for centuries. The basis of this ideology dates to the fatwas of Ibn Taymiyyah – the Sunni Shaykh al-Islam who called on Muslims in the early 14^th century to kill and dispossess the apostate Nusayris (today’s Alevis) and Druze.

These historical fatwas have been reinterpreted by HTS and its predecessors, becoming the ideological basis for massacres committed against the Alevi and Druze communities. Left defenseless and disorganized in Syria, the Alevi community is also branded as “regime-leftover criminals” and targeted for mass executions.

A regime with a terrorist track record

The current Transitional Government in Syria is led by Ahmed al-Sharaa (aka Abu Mohammad al-Jolani). Both HTS and its predecessor, Al-Nusra Front, are designated as terrorist organisations by the UN Security Council’s Resolution 2254. According to a 2018 report by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, the HTS was responsible for at least 99 violent attacks against civilians in 2017-2018.  In a more recent report, the same Centre states that civilians living in HTS-controlled Idlib faced “… the threat of extrajudicial killings, police torture, and false imprisonment“.  According to the Sanctions List Search of the US Department of Treasury, Al-Nusra and HTS personnel are in the ‘strong’ category of the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list (“SDN List”).

HTS violations of International and Humanitarian Law since 8 December 2024

Since its rise to power in December 2024, the HTS regime have orchestrated a relentless campaign of ethnic/religious cleansing against Alevis and Druze communities. These violations have been documented by several human rights organisations and observatories, including the United Nations, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, The Syrian Network for Human Rights, and The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Violations committed by the regime directly and indirectly through terrorist groups allied with it included summary executions, deliberate destruction of property, abduction, mass detentions, and wide-spread targeting of people based on identity. These crimes were committed with genocidal intent against the Alevis and the Druze during the months of March 2025 and July 2025, respectively.

According to Human Rights Watch, the March massacres of the Alevis unfolded “within the framework of a centrally coordinated military operation directed by the Defence Ministry”. Similarly, the fighting between the Druze in Sweida and Bedouin armed groups in July “was exacerbated by the Syrian government’s interventions”. In both cases, the massacres were carried out with calls informed by the ideology of hatred that dates to the 14^th century.

As of July 2025, the preliminary and incomplete casualty count by the Syrian Human Rights Network indicates that 4,300 civilians have been killed by regime forces and regime-allied terrorist groups. This sum includes 2,069 Alevis and 1,224 Druze killed over a few days in March and July, respectively.

The scale of the regime’s violations is known to the international community, including the United Nations, the Security Council and the Member States. UN bodies such as the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM), the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic (COI) and the Independent Institution on Missing Persons (IIMP) are also aware of the gravity of the situation in Syria. At the national level, the House of Commons in the UK and the non-partisan Congressional Research Service in the US have already published reports expressing serious concerns.

Moreover, a report by the Royal United Services Institute states that the parliamentary elections held on 5 October 2025 were considered as flawed.  One reason is that the president (who himself is not elected) directly appoints one-third of the parliament and indirectly influences the rest by hand-picking the 6,000 delegates as electoral college. Finally, the elections were not held in areas that the regime have not yet controlled – Raqqa and Hasakah controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Suweida controlled by Druze militia.

Moreover, Article 3.1 of the regime’s constitution provides that “Islamic jurisprudence is the principal source of legislation”. This provision implies that the fatwas mentioned above can be invoked as justification for discrimination against and dispossession of Alevis, Druze and Christians without penalty.

That is why it is not surprising that in the Freedom House 2025 Country Report the HTS regime’s Political Rights Score is below zero – a shameful score of -3 out of 40! This is the worst score among 185 countries monitored in 2025.

Given the historical background and ongoing violations of the HTS regime, we call on the United Nations General Assembly, its member states and the Security Council to:

1. Declare their commitment to ensuring that the regime and the armed groups allied with it will be held accountable for the crimes they have committed. As indicated by the Human Rights Watch, the ongoing lack of clarity on the framework for justice is a major reason for ongoing violence in Syria.
2. Declare willingness and responsibility for protecting all minorities under threat, including the Alevis, the Druze, the Christians and the Kurds.
3. Establish credible, internationally supported lines of humanitarian aid, working with international humanitarian aid organisations.
4. Establish a crisis committee that includes UN bodies such as International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) and Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria (COI), and organisations defending human rights within and outside Syria.
5. Exert pressure on the HTS regime to secure impartial accountability and judicial independence, including the revision of the constitutional declaration and the penal code that does not criminalize war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, or other international crimes.
6. Support the efforts of human rights organisations towards documenting, preserving and analysing the evidence that could be vital for future domestic and international accountability processes.
7. Put an immediate end to the discourse that lumps together the ethnic/religious cleansing of the HTS regime and the violations of the Assad regime that preceded it. This discourse is enabling the HTS regime and its terrorist allies to legitimise their atrocities as a conflict with the remnants of the Asad regime.

EVIDENCE ON HTS REGIME’S VIOLATIONS IN 2025

1. Selected scores for political rights in Syria – Freedom House Report:

Syria: Freedom in the World 2025 Country Report | Freedom House

 

Political Rights criteria	Score out 4
Was the current head of government or other chief national authority elected through free and fair elections?	0 / 4
Were the current national legislative representatives elected through free and fair elections?	0 / 4
Are the electoral laws and framework fair, and are they implemented impartially by the relevant election management bodies?	0 / 4
Do various segments of the population (including ethnic, racial, religious, gender, LGBT+, and other relevant groups) have full political rights and electoral opportunities?	0 / 4
Are safeguards against official corruption strong and effective?	0 / 4
Is the government or occupying power deliberately changing the ethnic composition of a country or territory so as to destroy a culture or tip the political balance in favour of another group?	0 / 4
Is there freedom for nongovernmental organizations, particularly those that are engaged in human rights– and governance-related work?	0 / 4
Do laws, policies, and practices guarantee equal treatment of various segments of the population?	0 / 4
Are individuals able to exercise the right to own property and establish private businesses without undue interference from state or nonstate actors?	0 / 4

 

2. The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) Report on civilian casualties in the first six months of the HTS regime

Death of 2818 Civilians Including 201 Children and 194 Women, and 17 Deaths due to Torture Recorded in the First Half of 2025

 

3. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) monthly reports on casualties under the HTS regime

Monthly death toll | 1,224 civilians among 1,732 people killed in July 2025

Monthly death toll | 360 civilians among 391 people killed in June 2025

Monthly death toll | 295 civilians among 428 people killed in May 2025

Monthly death toll | 352 civilians among 452 people killed in April 2025

Monthly death toll | 2,069 civilians among 2,644 people killed in March 2025

 

4. Human Rights Watch Report, September 23, 2025: “Are you Alawi?” Identity-Based Killings During Syria’s Transition, https://www.hrw.org/report/2025/09/23/are-you-alawi/identity-based-killings-during-syrias-transition

 

5. Human Rights Watch Report, March 10, 2025:  “Syria: End Coastal Killing Spree, Protect Civilians,” Human Rights Watch news release, https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/03/10/syria-end-coastal-killing-spree-protect-civilians

 

6. UN Human Rights Council – Syria Commission Press Release, August 14, 2025:

UN Human Rights Council – Syria Commission. “UN Syria Commission finds March coastal violence was widespread and systematic: outlines urgent steps to prevent future violations and restore public confidence.” UNHRC Press Release.

 

7. UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Press Release, October 30, 2025: “The future of Syria is in the balance:” UN Commission sounds alarm on renewed violence amid hopes for justice and peace | OHCHR, 30 October 2025.

 

8. Amnesty International, Press Release. Syria: ‘Killed in cold blood’ – government and affiliated forces extrajudicially executed Druze people – new investigation, 2 September 2025.

 

9. Amnesty International, Press Release. Syria: Authorities have a ‘legal and moral’ duty to investigate abductions of Alawite women and girls, 28 July 2025.

 

10. Amnesty International, Press Release. Syria: New government must prioritise justice, truth and accountability to prevent further abuse – Amnesty warns, 16 May 2025.

 

11. United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Report: “… religious freedom remains under threat from a variety of actors, including loyalists to the transitional authorities, who have targeted civilians with mass sectarian attacks.” Religious Freedom and U.S. Policy in Post-Assad Syria | USCIRF, July 2025.