On Thursday, the Syrian judiciary issued two death sentences against two loyalists to the former regime and sentenced another defendant, a member of the current Ministry of Defense, to twenty years in prison, convicting them of involvement in the bloody violence that took place on the Syrian coast last year.
As of March 6, 2025, over a period of three days, the Sahel region witnessed acts of violence with a sectarian background, which the authorities accused gunmen loyal to the ousted President Bashar al-Assad of igniting by launching attacks that killed dozens of its members.
In September, the judiciary issued a death sentence and another life sentence against two loyalists to the previous regime, and sentenced a member of the Ministry of Defense affiliated with the new authorities to twenty years in prison in the same case.
The trials, which began in November 2025, were completed on Thursday in the city of Aleppo in northern Syria, as the judiciary issued its rulings against three defendants loyal to the previous regime and seven members of the Ministry of Defense.
The head of the Military Criminal Court, Zakaria Bakkar, announced that two defendants loyal to Assad were sentenced to death by hanging “for the felony of assault aimed at provoking civil war and sectarian fighting” and for “the felony of heading and assuming leadership of armed gangs.”
The third was sentenced to 12 years in prison “for the crime of interfering with the felony of assault aimed at provoking civil war and sectarian fighting (...) and for the crime of interfering by heading and assuming leadership of armed gangs.”
The judge sentenced another defendant, a member of the current Ministry of Defense, to 20 years in prison for “felony murder” with intent. He issued a three-year prison sentence against another member for the crime of torture, and two others were sentenced to two years in prison in the same case. The judiciary acquitted two members of the Ministry of Defense and sentenced a third to two months in prison for convicting him of a misdemeanor of causing harm.
The violence that took place on the Syrian coast left about 1,700 people dead, the vast majority of whom were Alawites, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The Observatory, witnesses, and human rights organizations spoke of security forces and auxiliary groups committing massacres and “field executions” that targeted the Alawite minority, to which the Assad family belongs.
An investigation committee appointed by the authorities announced in July 2025 that it had identified 298 people suspected of involvement in violence against the Alawite minority, noting that it had verified “serious violations,” which resulted in the killing of 1,426 Alawites whose names were documented. According to the investigation committee, 238 members of public security and the army were also killed.
The Yemeni governor of Taiz, Nabil Shamsan, considered the arrival of the Houthi militias to the governorate “in this way” as the beginning of its end, stressing that Taiz will be victorious and lift the siege, and will be “the great gateway to victory,” and that the ultimate goal of the battle is to reach the capital, Sana’a.
Shamsan said, in an interview with Al-Sharq Bloomberg, that the battle has been going on for more than ten years, and during which the fronts and locations have changed, explaining that the fall of a site or geographical area does not mean the end of the battle, just as its restoration does not mean achieving victory. He added: “The ultimate goal of this battle is to reach the capital, Sanaa,” as the point at which it can be said that the battle has reached its goal.
He pointed to the continuation of fighting on the various fronts of Taiz Governorate, including Sabr, Al-Misrakh, and the eastern and western fronts, praising the steadfastness of the fighters and resistance men and what they are providing on these fronts.
He stressed his confidence in the governorate's ability to overcome the siege, saying: “Taiz will be victorious, Taiz will lift the siege, and Taiz will be the great gateway to victory.” He added, "The arrival of the Houthi militias in Taiz in this way is the true beginning of their end."
Speaking about the humanitarian repercussions, the governor warned that the Houthi siege had now included all the governorate’s ports, preventing the arrival of food, medicine, energy and fuel, describing the humanitarian situation as “extremely difficult.”
He explained that the diesel shortage led to hospitals almost shutting down and the equipment used to transport garbage malfunctioning, while the Water Corporation could no longer pump water to citizens. He said that the inaccessibility of the main waste dump forced the concerned authorities to transport the garbage from the main streets to other locations within the governorate, without being able to take it out.
Shamsan pointed out that there are more than two million liters of diesel and more than 51 gas trailers in Tor Al-Baha, in addition to hundreds of tankers parked in Lahj and Aden waiting to be allowed to enter Taiz. He added that the wait for these shipments exceeded two weeks, stressing that they belong to merchants who paid for them to provide materials and services to citizens, and not state-owned supplies.
Regarding coordination with the Saudi-led coalition, the governor said that communication continues “at the moment” and in “every small and large matter,” adding: “We are now in one trench.”
He appreciated the efforts of Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in supporting Yemen and supporting the fronts, saying that the Kingdom is undertaking support efforts “on behalf of almost all countries.”
He described the Houthis as “Iranian militias” whose goals go beyond the borders of Taiz and Yemen, stressing that “without the efforts made by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the situation would have been completely different.”
The Yemeni government called on the United Nations and the UN Security Council to take urgent and effective steps to lift the stifling siege imposed by the Houthi militia on the city of Taiz, which portends a widespread humanitarian catastrophe.
This came in a letter sent by the Yemeni Foreign Minister, Dr. Afrah Al-Zuba, to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the President of the UN Security Council, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, on Wednesday, regarding the serious deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Taiz as a result of the Houthi escalation.
The minister warned that the recent Houthi escalation and tightening of the siege on Taiz and its villages heralds a humanitarian catastrophe affecting more than 4 million people, including those trapped inside the city and displaced people from the affected districts such as “Al-Shamaytain, Al-Mawasit, and Jabal Habashi.”
The letter called for direct international pressure to immediately lift the siege, open all Taiz ports to civilians and supply chains, and ensure sustainable access to food, fuel and drinking water, without obstacles, in addition to strengthening monitoring, documentation and accountability mechanisms to preserve evidence of violations, hold perpetrators accountable and ensure that they do not escape punishment.
It also called for a clear international stance to be taken regarding any practices aimed at depriving the civilian population of the necessities of life or using their humanitarian needs as a means of pressure or imposing a fait accompli.
The government reaffirmed its commitment to cooperate with the United Nations, its specialized agencies, humanitarian and human rights organizations, and regional and international partners, and to provide the relevant data and information available to it, and to work to facilitate humanitarian response efforts, in a way that contributes to alleviating the suffering of the population, protecting civilians, and ensuring that aid reaches those who deserve it.
Al-Zuba stressed that “the seriousness of the current situation in Taiz, and the direct threat it poses to the lives, dignity, and basic rights of civilians, requires urgent international action that goes beyond expressing concern to taking practical and concrete measures to ensure ending the siege, restoring the flow of necessary supplies, protecting civilian facilities, and preventing the humanitarian catastrophe from worsening.”
