This report discusses the deliberate fires set by the de facto authority against Alawites, which occurred in the Syrian coastal region and the countryside of Hama during August 2025.
Report Title
Deliberate Fires in the Syrian Coast as a Weapon of Genocide: A Legal Report on the Violations Committed by the Interim Authority Against Alawite Civilians
Introduction
Amid escalating sectarian violence, Alawite-majority areas are experiencing a wave of systematic, deliberately set fires by the Interim Authority, backed by security elements and extremist groups. These fires are not accidental events or a result of negligence; rather, the available evidence indicates they are a deliberate tool for mass destruction and collective punishment. This report documents how the use of arson, alongside policies of exclusion, starvation, and killing, forms part of a larger scheme targeting a specific group, placing these acts within the framework of genocide and crimes against humanity.
1. Field Facts and Documented Evidence
1.1 The Use of Drones to Burn Land
A number of filmed testimonies, supported by videos, confirm that security elements affiliated with the Interim Authority used drones to ignite fires in agricultural lands and forests owned by Alawite civilians. Eyewitnesses from the local population confirmed seeing the drones releasing sparks or small incendiary bombs, with some cases being documented on video.
1.2 Complicity of Civil Defense Teams in Preventing Fire Extinguishing
Filmed footage has documented fire trucks belonging to the Civil Defense apparatus of the Authority emptying their water tanks onto the roads without heading towards the fire hotspots. These teams were often present only for media purposes, filming themselves as if they were responding to the fires, while in reality they were intentionally wasting water and withdrawing without any actual intervention.
1.3 The Use of Exploding Bullets to Deliberately Ignite Fires
Multiple testimonies have documented elements of the Authority using machine guns firing exploding bullets towards thickets and forests, causing them to catch fire. One video shows elements of these forces firing at the brush, laughing and displaying clear schadenfreude at the "burning of Alawite lands," in a scene carrying clear inciteful sectarian connotations.
2. Legal Classification of the Deliberate Fires
2.1 War Crime
Under International Humanitarian Law, specifically Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the destruction of civilian property beyond the scope of military necessity constitutes a war crime.
2.2 Crime Against Humanity
When these acts are committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack against a civilian population, they amount to a crime against humanity, especially when accompanied by policies of starvation, intimidation, and environmental destruction.
2.3 Indicative of Genocidal Intent
The deliberate fires, when placed in the context of mass killings, the abduction of women, the dismissal of Alawite civilians from their jobs, and the sectarian statements issued by the Authority's officials, become part of a systematic pattern with a clear destructive intent. This constitutes both material and mental elements used to establish the crime of genocide under the 1948 Convention.
3. The Broader Context of the Crimes
These fires occurred concurrently with the following crimes during the year 2025:
Documented massacres resulting in the deaths of more than 10,000 Alawite civilians.
The kidnapping and enforced disappearance of dozens of Alawite women.
Campaigns of mass expulsion and dismissal from government institutions.
Repeated speeches from the leaders of the Authority, and activists close to it, explicitly calling for the killing of Alawites and the "purification" of the land from them.
4. International Responsibility of the Interim Authority
Although it is an interim authority and not officially recognized by all states, the actions of its leaders and members are fully subject to international humanitarian law and human rights law. Those responsible can be pursued before:
The International Criminal Court;
National courts that apply the principle of universal jurisdiction;
United Nations fact-finding commissions.
5. Report Recommendations
Initiate an independent international investigation into the deliberate fires.
Document all available evidence (photographs, testimonies, videos, satellite imagery).
Urge the international community to classify these acts as major international crimes.
Impose targeted sanctions on leaders of the Authority involved in these violations.
The deliberate fires are not merely a tool of environmental destruction, but rather a weapon of collective targeting used within an extremist sectarian context aimed at displacing and intimidating a specific religious group. Ignoring or downplaying these violations contributes to entrenching impunity and poses a real threat to the principles of justice and human dignity.
ALRedLines 27-8-2025