Homs Governorate and its countryside are witnessing a dangerous escalation of organized attacks and sectarian-motivated crimes amid a total absence of accountability. Successive field events indicate the existence of a systematic campaign relying on intimidation and forced displacement, directly targeting members of the Alawite community in the region.
Armed Attack in Al-Sabil Neighborhood
In the city of Homs, the Al-Sabil neighborhood was subjected to a direct attack carried out by two armed men on a motorcycle, who opened fire on a family while they were on the balcony of their home. The attack resulted in the deaths of Amneh Qair, her daughter Lujain Khansa (14), and her son Isa Khansa (11), who succumbed to their severe injuries in the hospital.
Abduction and Liquidation in the Western Countryside
In the western countryside of Homs Governorate, where armed groups operate openly, the village of Al-Shaniya witnessed an abduction targeting a young man, Samih Fahd Saif Al-Din Khallouf. Khallouf was taken from his private poultry farm, and his body was found two days later dumped in an open area between the villages of Maryamin and Al-Shaniya.
Assassination Attempts and Push Towards Displacement in the Eastern Countryside
The systematic operations extended to the eastern countryside, where unidentified gunmen opened fire on citizen Mahmoud Hamdan Haji, who hails from the village of Al-Quniya Al-Sharqiya and belongs to the Alawite community, as he was leaving the health center in the village of Al-Manzoul after undergoing medical tests. The attack resulted in him sustaining three gunshot wounds, one in the abdomen and two in the shoulder. He was subsequently transferred to the University Hospital in Homs, where he currently resides in the intensive care unit in critical condition. This incident falls within a broader context of extortion and liquidation operations concentrated on members of the community in the areas of Al-Raqama, Al-Shairat, and surrounding villages, aimed at intimidating residents and forcing them to evacuate the region.
Organizational Cover and Public Threats
These incidents are accompanied by organizational cover provided by local entities, as the so-called “Revolution Leadership in Rastan” issued public threats targeting those they described as “enemies and remnants of the regime,” which represents a legitimization of liquidations based on sectarian identity. These operations are carried out openly in plain sight of the “General Security” apparatus belonging to the de facto authorities there.
Preliminary investigations and investigative sources indicate the involvement of an individual named “Qahtan Hassoun” in managing a criminal network linked to influential local figures. Data shows a correlation between Hassoun’s inciting posts on social media and the timing of the field liquidations. Additionally, eyewitnesses reported that the physical characteristics of the gunman who carried out the Al-Sabil neighborhood attack match Hassoun’s descriptions, indicating a direct operational link between incitement and field execution.
The continuation of this security escalation threatens to impose a new demographic reality in Homs Governorate and its countrysides, driven by organized crimes that face no legal or security deterrent. In light of the organizational cover provided to the perpetrators and the absence of any genuine accountability efforts by the de facto authorities, the region is heading towards further directed violence. This places the targeted population under a direct threat to their lives and solidifies the policy of forced displacement as an inevitable consequence of the ongoing field intimidation campaigns and physical liquidations.