On 18 November, the Aleppo Court of Justice opened the first criminal trial concerning the mass killings in Syria’s Alawite-majority coastal regions in March 2025, in which over 1,400 people were killed (many of them civilians). The case stems from a special fact-finding committee appointed by the transitional government, which referred 563 suspects for investigation. The defendants include former regime loyalists, accused of attacking the transitional government’s security forces, as well as members of these security forces, who are charged with killing civilians. The trial marks the first instance since the fall of Assad in December 2024 in which suspected perpetrators of mass violence are being prosecuted. 

Sources: Enab Baladi (1), Enab Baladi (2), Syria Direct, International IDEA

On 5 October, Syria held indirect parliamentary elections to fill 119 of the 210 seats in the new People’s Assembly, the country’s unicameral parliament, which will serve a 30-month transitional term. Under a temporary electoral law issued in August, two-thirds of the seats were to be chosen through electoral colleges, while the remaining third would be appointed by President Al-Sharaa. Approximately 6,000 electoral-college members (selected via district subcommittees) voted for 1,578 pre-listed candidates, 14 per cent of whom were women. Voting did not take place in the governorates of Sweida, Raqqa, and Al-Hasakah due to insecurity and lack of full government control. Only six women were elected among the 119 seats, suggesting that Al-Sharaa may need to appoint additional women to meet the 20 per cent quota established under the temporary electoral law. Al-Sharaa has not yet made his 70 appointments, and the 21 seats in governorates where elections were postponed remain vacant.

Sources: Syrian Arab News Agency, Al Jazeera, The New Arab, Arab Reform Initiative, Enab Baladi

On 12 July, armed clashes erupted in the southern Sweida region between local Druze militias and Bedouin communities, resulting in at least 1,000 deaths and the displacement of over 145,000 people. The fighting, which escalated following the intervention of Syrian government forces and Israel’s airstrikes, triggered a humanitarian crisis, with power outages, water shortages, and collapsed medical services. Human rights groups documented abuses by all sides, including extrajudicial killings and attacks on civilians. The violence left the city of Sweida effectively under Druze militia control, and Bedouin civilians were evacuated by the government.

Sources: Al Arabiya, Reuters, Middle East Eye, Human Rights Watch, United Nations

On 17 May, two presidential decrees established the National Commission for Transitional Justice (NCTJ) and the National Commission for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared (NCM). According to the transitional government, the commissions are intended to provide access to truth, accountability, and redress for victims of the civil war. The NCTJ will be mandated to investigate serious human rights violations committed during the conflict, with a scope limited to crimes attributed to the former Assad regime. The NCM will be responsible for documenting cases of enforced disappearance, developing a national database, and assisting families to locate missing relatives. Its mandate applies to all cases of missing and forcibly disappeared persons, regardless of the responsible party. Overall, observers described the creation of the commissions as a step forward in the establishment of national transitional justice mechanisms, while noting that their effectiveness will depend on implementation.

Sources: Syrian Arab News Agency, Syria TV, Presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic (1), Presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic (2), The International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism, Justice Info (1), Justice Info (2)