Warning: This story contains graphic details.
Hundreds of civilians in Syria were said to have been killed in the midst of the clashes between the interim government forces and the Loyalists of the Pro-Assad regime. But far from performing in the shadows, murders – in some cases, summary executions in the fields and villages – have been widely published: often published first on telegram groups and widely shared on social networks.
The content gives an overview of what’s going on in the field During the current civil war in Syria. And human rights investigators run to collect and analyze all of this – in some cases, before it is deleted by the authors or deleted by social media moderation systems. The collection and analysis of videos is a crucial step to establish a fact of facts and a basis for future surveys or efforts of responsibility.
“It is very important for us to do so quickly, because the automated moderation of the content can often delete harmful or graphic images if it is reported-even if it is not reported, if it is simply indicated automatically as violent content which could be in violation of platform policies,” said Benjamin Strick, director of investigations for the Center for Information Resilience based in the United Kingdom (CIR) News.
“Even part of the weekend content when we have seen an increase in violence has been deleted.”
Check the murders
The CIR launched a new project documenting violence in Syria – including against civilians – in response to the recent murders, who started after the fighters loyal to the Assad regime deposited, overthrown in December 2024, would have set an ambush to government forces last week, killing civilians. The fighting has been transformed into murders of revenge perpetrated by the government and non -governmental forces in areas populated by members of the Allawite religious minority – although they are the second religious group in Syria – a group to which former President Bashar Al -Assad belongs.
Already, several human rights groups have published reports combining official figures, testimonies of eyewitnesses and a verified video of social media to shed light on what is happening. These include the Syrian network for human rights,, Human Rights Watchand the Center for Syrian justice and responsibility (Sjac).
The collection and verification of murders’ videos published on social networks can help separate the truth from the false declaration, Strick said. Many videos online In the wake of violence, showing old incidents of violence that have been described as having taken place recently.
The verification of images also gives the public an essential overview of what really happened in detail during the murder campaign, where the victims may not have taken videos, but the authors.
“It’s really identifying what happened on the ground,” said Strick.
The CBC News visual surveys team, in collaboration with the SJAC – an NGO whose declared objective is “justice and a significant responsibility for Syria” – has verified the authenticity of three videos circulating online and collected dozens of others which remain unlike.
CBC News journalists collected videos, some of which have also shared Sjac. Using reverse search tools and analyzing them to identify uniforms and insignia, the team determined that the videos had not been shared before. We shared these uniforms, patches and badges with SJAC researchers, who confirmed the results of CBC and additional details.
CBC News only shows static parts of videos because of their graphic nature. Victims of videos have not been identified.
In one, armed men carrying the uniforms of the public security forces of Syria drag a person dressed in civilian clothes in an alley before shooting it. Five bodies can be seen in the video. Another shooter, dressed in black, can be seen filming the bodies with a phone. A shared photo By the public news agency in Syria, indicates that at least one of the many men arrested for participating in extrajudicial murders was present in this video.
In a second video, a group of men carrying black uniforms sporting the Syrian flag dragged a person in a ditch next to a road, beaten it with rifles and then pulls it. The camera is revealing a truck covered with the Syria’s security forces badge.
In a third, two men shoot on a body on the ground, which was moving a few moments before. They carry fatigue and plots that seem to be the seal of the prophet’s badge carried by various Islamic militias in the country. At least one more body is visible – it is not clear if they are alive or dead.
Arrests of members of government forces have made
In violence, 172 security members, police and military forces were killed by combatants linked to Assad, according to a statement from the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) sent to CBC News. At least 211 civilians, including a humanitarian worker, were killed in direct fire made by these groups, the organization said.
“It was only panic mode, calling armed groups and anyone who can join the struggle to help support the government,” CBC News Noura Aljizawi, principal researcher at Citizen Lab at Toronto, told CBC.
The murders of revenge ensued along the coast. Witnesses told the Associated Press that the Alawites had been slaughtered in the streets and the doors of their houses. Allawite houses have also been burned and looted, witnesses said. The groups aligned by the government were responsible for the death of 420 total civilians and disarmed fighters, including 39 children and 49 women, SNHR said in a preliminary report.
The UN urges the acting leaders of Syria to protect civilians in the midst of the fighting between the security forces and those who remain faithful to the Syrian president ousted Bashar al-Assad. The former army staff allied in Assad has led attacks and ambushes coordinated since Thursday.
CBC News could not independently verify these figures. The UN said he checked 111 Total civil killings in clashes, with the current process.
Interior Ministry of Syria said Tuesday He had arrested four people as part of the attacks on civilians. A television report by a Lebanese news agency also showed that two other men have been arrested and linked them to an online circulating video in which two men on a motorcycle of another man in civilian clothes and perform, apparently at random.
Identify social media crimes
Aljizawi told CBC News that videos published online by armed groups have been essential to identify crimes in the past.
“Many atrocities that we identified … were through videos and photos they took themselves and they posted on social networks,” she said. “It is not unique to the Syrian conflict.”
Among the online videos Older videos of murders be transmitted as this week.
“Often there is a level of propaganda that surfaces online to minimize, discredit or simply undermine the events that occur on the ground,” said Cir’s Strick.
Disinformation helps to further divide Syrians, said Aljizawi, as pro-Assad forces can claim that acts have been undertaken by the new interim government, while others can use videos to deny that atrocities have occurred in the first place.
“This harms the victims. It harms the community. This affects this very fragile and very critical transition. And it absolutely does not help make peace or any sense of stability in the country.”
