Adam Coogle, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch, speaking to Rudaw on March 10, 2025. Photo: Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday called on Syrian authorities to hold accountable those responsible for human rights violations against minorities during days of deadly violence in the western coastal areas.
"We are hoping that as time goes on, the new Syrian authorities, the transitional government, will allow Human Rights Watch and other human rights groups and international investigations to visit all parts of Syria, to document the human rights situation everywhere,” Adam Coogle, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at HRW, told Rudaw’s Zana Kayani.
Violence erupted in the Alawite-majority coastal areas of western Syria after loyalists of toppled Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad launched attacks against security forces affiliated with the new Syrian leadership on Thursday.
Coogle also stressed that they were “gravely concerned” about the situation in the coastal areas where mass killings took place.
“We do not know the extent of the atrocities. We do not know how many civilians have been killed, but some human rights groups have estimated up to 700 or 800,” he added, noting that “the number could be higher.”
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Monday reported that around 1,500 people - mostly civilians - have been killed in the western Syria violence.
At least 1,068 civilians, many of whom are from the Alawite community - which Assad belongs to - are among the dead, the UK-based war monitor reported. The majority of these casualties were caused by government or government-affiliated forces.
The violence has drawn widespread condemnation from Western and regional countries in recent days. For their part, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have expressed support for Syria’s new authorities amid the unrest.
On Monday, Syria’s defense ministry reported that its forces had pushed the “remnants of the former regime” out of central coastal provinces such as Latakia and Tartous, declaring victory in their military operations.
Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa had a day prior ordered the establishment of an "independent national committee" to investigate the deadly clashes in the western region. He also pledged to form another high-level committee to “preserve civil peace” and to engage with the people of the coastal areas in the aftermath of the recent bloodshed.
"We are hoping that as time goes on, the new Syrian authorities, the transitional government, will allow Human Rights Watch and other human rights groups and international investigations to visit all parts of Syria, to document the human rights situation everywhere,” Adam Coogle, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at HRW, told Rudaw’s Zana Kayani.
Violence erupted in the Alawite-majority coastal areas of western Syria after loyalists of toppled Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad launched attacks against security forces affiliated with the new Syrian leadership on Thursday.
Coogle also stressed that they were “gravely concerned” about the situation in the coastal areas where mass killings took place.
“We do not know the extent of the atrocities. We do not know how many civilians have been killed, but some human rights groups have estimated up to 700 or 800,” he added, noting that “the number could be higher.”
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Monday reported that around 1,500 people - mostly civilians - have been killed in the western Syria violence.
At least 1,068 civilians, many of whom are from the Alawite community - which Assad belongs to - are among the dead, the UK-based war monitor reported. The majority of these casualties were caused by government or government-affiliated forces.
The violence has drawn widespread condemnation from Western and regional countries in recent days. For their part, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have expressed support for Syria’s new authorities amid the unrest.
On Monday, Syria’s defense ministry reported that its forces had pushed the “remnants of the former regime” out of central coastal provinces such as Latakia and Tartous, declaring victory in their military operations.
Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa had a day prior ordered the establishment of an "independent national committee" to investigate the deadly clashes in the western region. He also pledged to form another high-level committee to “preserve civil peace” and to engage with the people of the coastal areas in the aftermath of the recent bloodshed.
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