In a damning final report released after a four-month probe, a Syrian fact-finding committee revealed that 1,426 people – the majority of them civilians and 90 of them women – were killed during a wave of violence that swept through the coastal provinces of Tartus and Latakia on March 6.
The investigation, launched by President Ahmed al-Shara just three days after the massacre, aimed to uncover the truth behind coordinated assaults targeting security checkpoints and army posts across the region.
Speaking to journalists, committee spokesperson Yaser el-Ferhan admitted the findings were largely built on suspicion, not concrete evidence, though he said the process had been carried out in consultation with U.N. agencies to uphold investigative standards.
The final report paints a grim picture of a region consumed not by ideology, but vengeance.
Though violations like looting, killing, and arson were deemed widespread, the report found no evidence of a centrally organized campaign.
Instead, the perpetrators – identified in part as members of a breakaway group called El-Fulul, made up of remnants of the former regime – appeared driven by revenge.
The group reportedly sought to establish a "sectarian state" along the coast and was held responsible for killing 238 members of the army and internal security forces.
At least 265 El-Fulul fighters have been identified.
Their attacks also targeted families of government workers, prompting tens of thousands of armed civilians and militias from other parts of Syria to pour into the region, swelling the number of gunmen to nearly 200,000.
The committee handed over the names of 298 suspected offenders to the prosecution. Of those, 37 have been arrested, but it remains unclear how many were part of the armed forces.
Despite widespread testimony of abuses committed against civilians – including by members of armed groups – investigators said they found no proof that senior commanders in Syria’s security apparatus had ordered the violations.
The report urges authorities to launch a dedicated mechanism to investigate the suspects and ensure they are brought to justice.
It also calls for legal reforms, reparations for victims, and a complete overhaul of Syria’s security and intelligence structures.
For a fragile Syria, now in a transitional phase, the report underscores a desperate need to realign national laws and judicial systems with international human rights standards.
It also recommends promoting peace-building programs and community dialogue while cracking down on hate speech, sectarian rhetoric, and violence-especially online and in media.
Committee head Hakim Juma el-Inizi warned that the chaotic integration of militias into Syria’s Defense Ministry remains superficial and incomplete, serving only as a temporary patch for the vacuum left by the dismantled Assad-era military.
He stressed that the identities of all individuals and groups suspected of participating in the violations must be fully revealed, and authorities must take decisive action to restore accountability.
On that fateful day, remnants of the former regime launched coordinated attacks on military and security infrastructure in Tartus, Latakia, and surrounding districts like Jableh and Baniyas.
Hundreds of civilians and troops died.
The Defense Ministry quickly dispatched reinforcements to stabilize the region.
Following the bloodshed, the government labeled the attackers as “undisciplined elements” and accused them of carrying out killings, theft, and destruction in the coastal stretch.
President al-Sharaa responded by forming both the Fact-Finding Committee and the High Council for the Protection of Social Peace – but the report suggests Syria’s road to peace and justice remains long and deeply fractured.
