2.1. Individuals affiliated or perceived to be affiliated with the former Government of Syria
Since the change of government, individuals affiliated or perceived to be affiliated with the former Assad regime have continued to face arrests,193, killings,194 disappearances,195 mistreatment,196 abductions,197 and social exclusion.198 These actions have been carried out by state authorities, non-state armed groups, local actors, and unidentified armed factions, including extremist groups, often motivated by alleged collaboration or revenge. Those targeted include former soldiers and security personnel, intelligence officers, civilian collaborators, and those perceived to have ties to the previous government.199
As it is often unclear whether individuals are targeted due to their perceived affiliation with the former government or their membership in the Alawite community, there is likely to be some overlap between this section on individuals affiliated – or perceived to be affiliated with the former government of Syria – and the section on Alawites.
- 193
UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic (A/HRC/61-62), 12 March 2026, url, paras 25-26, 44; Global Protection Cluster, Syria Protection Sector - Snapshot Protection Landscape in Syria, 3 April 2025, url, p. 2
- 194
SJAC, Revenge Killings Targeting Assad Regime Affiliates (December 2024 - May 2025), 22 May 2025, url; Enab Baladi, Homs, Syria: “Mobile Killings” Claim 30 Civilian Lives in Two Months, 1 March 2026, url
- 195
UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic (A/HRC/61-62), 12 March 2026, url, paras 44-48
- 196
UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic (A/HRC/61-62), 12 March 2026, url, paras 26-28; Syria Justice and Accountability Centre, online interview with EUAA, 11 June 2025
- 197
UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic (A/HRC/61-62), 12 March 2026, url, paras 63-64
- 198
Haid, H., Syria’s Patchwork DDR: Holding a Transition Together with Loose Threads, Middle East Council on Global Affairs, 1 February 2026, url; International Crisis Group, Restoring Security in Post-Assad Syria: Lessons from the Coast and Suweida, 26 November 2025, url, pp. 10-11; UN Human Rights Council, Violations against civilians in Coastal and Western Central Syria in January - March 2025, 11 August 2025, url, para 37
- 199
DK, DIS, Syria, Situation of Certain Groups, December 2025, url, pp. 63, 70, 97 [Syria Direct, Syrian human rights organisation, SNHR]; EUAA, Syria: Country Focus, July 2025, url, pp. 32-36