Washington / Damascus – June 2026
Today, the Western Syria Development Organization issued an urgent official appeal and plea to the U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, calling for immediate diplomatic intervention to halt the dangerous escalation and systematic violence targeting civilian citizens, specifically those from the Alawite and Druze communities in Syria.
This appeal is grounded in precise documentary reports prepared by the Organization’s monitoring teams during the first week of June 2026. These reports reveal an escalating pattern of grave violations and coercive, identity-based discriminatory policies across several Syrian governorates.
In its letter, the Organization documented a series of flagrant violations, most notably:
-
Systematic Identity-Based Targeting and Sectarian Violence: The governorates of Homs, Hama, and Damascus have witnessed a dangerous rise in sectarian violence, including assassinations and armed attacks in the Hama and Homs countryside. Furthermore, a violent sectarian assault using cold weapons against three students in the dormitories of Damascus University was documented, amid the complicity and failure of local authorities and university security to take any deterrent action despite knowing the identities of the perpetrators.
-
Extrajudicial Killings, Torture, and Kidnapping: The Organization recorded horrific incidents including death under torture following days of arbitrary detention in the Al-Zara area of Homs, with families being denied the right to receive the bodies of their loved ones or hold proper religious burial rites. Additionally, kidnapping and killing operations targeted the elderly in Deir ez-Zor, while the fate of minors abducted in the Hama countryside remains unknown.
-
Forced Displacement and Financial Extortion: Families in residential neighborhoods of Damascus (such as the Al-Wuroud and Al-Haras neighborhoods) received arbitrary eviction notices from security centers and were forced to sign pledges to vacate their homes. Concurrently, these families were subjected to massive financial extortion, reaching up to two million Syrian pounds in exchange for temporary permission to stay.
-
Deprivation of Education and Institutional Marginalization: In the Al-Suwayda governorate, thousands of students are facing systematic educational deprivation following the Ministry of Education’s decision to relocate examination centers to Damascus. This forces students to travel the “Road of Death,” a route fraught with the risks of kidnapping and armed ambushes. Despite peaceful protests and appeals, the government refused to negotiate and continued to broadcast misleading media reports claiming the road was safe.
-
Suppression of Civil Rights: Peaceful protesters in Damascus were threatened with force and arbitrary arrest, while pro-government groups were permitted to hold intimidating, sectarian marches in the exact same location without any legal restrictions.
The Western Syria Development Organization, driven by its humanitarian principles and its role in protecting vulnerable communities, urges the U.S. Department of State and the international community to immediately utilize all tools of diplomatic pressure to protect defenseless civilians, put an end to the growing sectarian persecution, and ensure the safety and freedom of all Syrian components without discrimination.