Murders surge in regime-held areas | 22 civilians, including women and children, killed in 19 murders in September

Since early September, regime-held areas has seen alarming escalation of crimes rates, in light of the failure of regime security services of the Syrian regime to put an end to the chaos and rampant security chaos that prevail across Syrian provinces which are under the control of regime forces.

These crimes were committed with various motives and reasons, most notably “theft, revenge, or honour” and other reasons.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), based on its role as a human rights institution, has monitored the murders and casualties left behind by these crimes.

Since early September, SOHR activists have documented 19 murders that left 22 civilians dead, and they are as follows:

Six women.

Three children.

13 men and young men.

 

The fatalities are distributed regionally as follows:

• Rif Dimashq: Five civilians: Two women and Three men including an Iraqi man.

• Tartous: Three civilians: A woman, a man, and a child.

• Deir Ezzor: Four civilians: A woman, two man, and a child.

• Al-Suwaydaa: Four men.

• Latakia: Two civilians: A woman and a child.

• Homs: Three civilians: A woman and two man.

• Daraa: A man.

Here are further details of these crimes that have been documented by SOHR:

• September 1: An elderly woman in her sixties was found murdered in a house in Kafr Batna district in Rif Dimashq.

• September 1: A child was killed in the explosion of a grenade thrown by an unidentified person in neighbourhood of Al-Jubaybat Al-Gharbiyah city in Latakia countryside.

• September 4: The residents found the body of a child hanging on the outskirts of Al-Salhiyah city in Al-Bokamal countryside, east of Deir Ezzor.

• September 4: A 65-year-old woman was found dead after being murdered with a sharp tool by unknown persons inside her house on “Fouad Cinema” street in Deir Ezzor city centre.

• September 5: A woman was shot dead by members of the 4th Division in Zakiyah city in western Rif Dimashq.

• September 7: The residents found the body of a civilian with gunshot wounds near Julen dam in Al-Suwaydaa.

• September 8: Two civilians were shot dead by bedouin tribesmen in a bush between the villages of Qom and Samid in Al-Suwaydaa countryside.

• September 8: a man, his wife, and his 17-year-old son were killed by the husband of his daughter in Wadi Al-Shater neighbourhood in Tartous.

• September 9: A man was stabbed to death with a knife in a fight in Al-Jizah town in eastern Daraa countryside.

• September 9: An Iraqi refugee was killed by a gang after they infiltrated his house to commit a robbery in Al-Sayyida Zainab area in southern Rif Dimashq.

• September 11: A girl was strangled by her father on for escaping with her lover in Jableh area in Latakia countryside.

• September 13: An elderly man in his fifties was shot dead by unidentified gunmen near Al-Zouhour café in Al-Qusour neighbourhood of Deir Ezzor.

• September 14: An elderly man in his fifties was found killed and buried in a pit in a farmland in Jobar neighbourhood in Homs.

• September 16: The body of a woman in her thirties was found with nine knife stabs, between Homs and Tartous provinces.

• September 20: A man killed his sister’s husband, who is in his 40s, in “Arna” store in Qatna area in Rif Dimashq, with a gunshot to the back following family disputes between them. Meanwhile, the local authorities arrested the murderer.

• September 23: A man in his 60s was shot dead by his brother in Al-Mazraa town in Al-Suwaydaa countryside, due to an old vendetta.

• September 25: The body of a man was found killed by several gunshots over the roof of his house in Deir Ezzor city, in a theft operation. According to reliable SOHR sources, three people sneaked into the house of the victim at night, stole 5,000,000 Syrian Liras and opened fire on the victim, killing him. Meanwhile, the local authorities in Al-Mayadin area arrested the perpetrators.

• September 26: Gunmen killed a man in Talbisah city in eastern Homs countryside. The crime was committed out of theft.

• September 28: An unidentified armed group killed a person after kidnapping him from a library in Al-Harika area in the centre of the capital Damascus.

The Syrian Observatory has documented 113 murders in regime-controlled areas since early 2022, where domestic violence and armed robbery were behind some of these murders, while motivations behind the others remained unknown. These murders left 121 civilians: 21 children, 21 women and 79 men, dead. The fatalities are distributed regionally as follows:

• Al-Suwaydaa: 31 civilians: three children, including an infant, three women and 25 men.

• Rif Dimashq: 23 civilians: six children, five women and twelve men, including an Iraqi man.

• Homs: 14 civilians: Two little girls, three women and nine men.

• Hama: Ten civilians: an infant, three women and six men.

• Daraa: Ten civilians: four children and six men.

• Aleppo: Seven civilians: an infant and six men.

• Damascus: Four civilians: a woman and three men.

• Tartus: Seven civilians: Three women, three men and a child.

• Deir Ezzor: Eight people: Five men, a child and a woman.

• Al-Raqqah: Two men.

• Latakia: Four civilians: two women, a child and a man.

• Al-Quneitra: A child.