Hama governorate used to be a stronghold of former President Bashar Al-Assad’s forces during the civil war.593 On 5 December 2024 Hama city was captured by HTS594 and as of mid-December 2024 virtually the entire governorate was shown as controlled by HTS-led opposition forces on a map produced by ISW and CTP. 595 In spring 2025 ISW and CTP depicted pockets of ‘pro-regime insurgent presence’ in the western part of the governorate.596 As of 31 January 2026, the governorate is shown as fully under control of Syrian government forces.597 The following units of the new Syrian Army were based in Hama governorate as of November 2025: the 54th Division, the 62nd Division, the 74th Special Forces Division and the 82nd Special Forces Division.598 The 62nd Division is the reflagged civil war faction Suleiman Shah Division, a former SNA group,599 which had been sanctioned because of atrocities against civilians.600 Members of the 62nd Division participated in the March 2025 sectarian violence against Alawites.601
Multiple reports describe acts of violence carried out by unidentified armed groups.602 ISIL activity was also reported in Hama governorate by SOHR: armed men reportedly linked to ISIL set up a temporary checkpoint in the northern Hama countryside in December 2025 but had left before security forces arrived.603 One ISIL member was reported killed and another one injured during an ambush presumably staged by other ISIL west of Hama city in April 2026.604
- 593
Media Line (The), Syrian Insurgents Take Hama, Paving Way for Potential Advance on Homs, 5 December 2024, url
- 594
BBC, Syrian rebels capture second major city after military withdraws, 5 December 2024, url
- 595
ISW and CTP, Reported Control of Terrain in Syria as of December 19, 2024 at 2:00 PM ET [Map], 20 December 2024, url
- 596
ISW and CTP, Assessed Control of Terrain in Western Syria March 19, 2025 at 2:00 PM EST [Map], 19 March 2025, url; ISW and CTP, Assessed Control of Terrain in Western Syria, July 28, 2025 at 2:00 PM EST [Map], 28 July 2025, url
- 597
UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, A/HRC/61/62 [Map], 12 March 2026, url, p. 45
- 598
ISW and CTP, The New Syrian Army: Order of Battle, 14 November 2025, url, pp. 46-47
- 599
Syria in Transition, What’s left of the SNA, December 2025, url; UN Human Rights Council, Violations against civilians in the coastal and western-central regions of the Syrian Arab Republic (January–March 2025), A/HRC/59/CRP.4, 11 August 2025, url, para. 83
- 600
ISW and CTP, The New Syrian Army: Order of Battle, 14 November 2025, url, p. 28
- 601
ISW and CTP, The New Syrian Army: Order of Battle, 14 November 2025, url, p. 46; Reuters, Syrian forces massacred 1,500 Alawites. The chain of command led to Damascus., 1 July 2025, url; UN Human Rights Council, Violations against civilians in the coastal and western-central regions of the Syrian Arab Republic (January–March 2025), A/HRC/59/CRP.4, 11 August 2025, url, para. 70, 83, 88
- 602
SOHR, Sectarian-driven crime | Alawite young man killed in Hama countryside, 6 April 2026, url; SOHR, Ongoing security chaos | Civilian killed by unidentified gunmen while traveling towards Hama, 27 March 2026, url; SOHR, Security chaos | Elder man shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Hamah, 10 February 2026, url; SANA, Two killed, three wounded in shooting in Hama province, 20 December 2025, url; SOHR, Amid conflicting accusations | Person shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Hama, 30 October 2025, url
- 603
SOHR, Security concerns after monitoring checkpoints bearing the hallmarks of “ISIS” in Hama countryside, 18 December 2025, url
- 604
SOHR, Ambush by ISIS | Member killed and another injured in western Hama countryside, 13 April 2026, url