Overview

The newly appointed president formed a transitional government. Government authorities established a National Commission for Transitional Justice and a National Commission for Missing Persons and began to try five former high-ranking officials for Assad-era crimes. Arbitrary detention continued to be used by the government and by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in north-eastern Syria. More than 30,000 people in SDF custody continued to be subjected to human rights violations. Government forces, government-backed forces and militia members unlawfully killed people from the Alawite minority and extrajudicially executed members of the Druze community. Druze armed groups and Bedouin tribal fighters committed serious abuses in Suwayda governorate, including abductions, unlawful killings and the burning of homes. The authorities failed to adequately investigate abductions of Alawite women and girls or hold perpetrators accountable. Syria faced its most severe drought in decades, worsening the humanitarian crisis. Israel continued to occupy the Golan Heights and moved troops into the UN-demilitarized buffer zone.