The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) documented the killing of at least 428 civilians in Syria during the first half of 2026, including 80 children and 33 women. The toll also included eight medical personnel and two media workers, while SNHR documented the death of one person due to torture during the same period.
In its semiannual report on victims of unlawful killings and civilian deaths linked to violence in Syria, published on Wednesday, July 1, SNHR said the toll represents the minimum number of cases it was able to document and verify under its methodology. The figure does not necessarily reflect the full scale of all unlawful killing incidents or civilian deaths linked to violence during the covered period.
The first-half toll included 202 civilians, among them 14 children and 19 women, killed by gunfire whose source SNHR could not identify. It also included 59 civilians, among them 24 children and two women, killed by landmines of unknown origin, 50 civilians, including 21 children and one woman, killed in explosions with unidentified perpetrators, and 35 civilians, including eight children and four women, killed by individuals SNHR could not identify.
SNHR also documented the killing of 57 civilians, including five children and two women, by the Syrian Democratic Forces, among them one person who died due to torture. It documented 12 civilians, including three children and three women, killed by Syrian government forces, nine civilians, including five children and two women, under the category of “remnants of the Assad regime,” three civilians killed by the Islamic State group, and one civilian killed by Israeli occupation forces.
The documented civilian death toll in the first half of 2026 was distributed monthly as follows:
- 111 victims in January.
- 96 victims in February.
- 61 victims in March.
- 75 victims in April.
- 44 victims in May.
- 41 victims in June.
Children and Women Account for 113 Victims
Children and women together accounted for 113 of the 428 documented civilian victims, or about 26% of the total.
By governorate, Aleppo governorate (northern Syria) recorded the highest toll, with 81 victims, about 19% of the total, followed by Hama (central Syria) with 67 victims, Homs (central Syria) with 63, Idlib (northwestern Syria) with 53, and Raqqa (northeastern Syria) with 51.
The report indicated that most victims in Aleppo were recorded in incidents attributed to the Syrian Democratic Forces or to sources of violence whose affiliation SNHR could not identify. In Hama, the vast majority of victims were attributed to sources of violence SNHR could not identify.
In the second quarter of 2026, SNHR documented the killing of 76 civilians, including four children and 44 women, by gunfire whose source it could not identify. It also documented 34 civilians, including 18 children, killed by landmines of unknown origin, 27 civilians, including ten children and one woman, killed in explosions with unidentified perpetrators, and 15 civilians, including one child and one woman, killed by individuals it could not identify.
These four categories accounted for about 95% of all documented civilian victims during the second quarter.
The report also recorded the killing of five civilians, including three children, under the “remnants of the Assad regime” category, one child by Syrian government forces, one civilian by the Islamic State group, and one civilian by Israeli occupation forces. Children made up about 23% of second-quarter victims.
24 Attacks on Vital Civilian Facilities
The report documented at least 24 attacks on vital civilian facilities in the first half of 2026, including three incidents targeting educational facilities, four targeting medical facilities, and one targeting a place of worship.
These incidents were distributed as follows: ten incidents attributed to the Syrian Democratic Forces, seven to Israeli occupation forces, four to shells whose source SNHR could not identify, two to attacks whose perpetrators SNHR could not identify, and one to Syrian government forces.
Aleppo governorate recorded the highest number of these incidents, with at least nine, followed by Daraa governorate (southern Syria), with at least six.
In the second quarter alone, SNHR documented at least seven attacks on vital civilian facilities, all attributed to Israeli occupation forces and concentrated in Daraa and Quneitra governorate (southwestern Syria).
The report concluded that unlawful killings and civilian deaths linked to violence affect the right to life, which is protected under international human rights law, particularly Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
According to SNHR, the authorities in place and the forces exercising de facto control have obligations to protect this right, prevent arbitrary deprivation of life, investigate deaths that may be unlawful, and hold those responsible accountable.
Some documented incidents also raise concerns under international humanitarian law, particularly the rules protecting civilians and civilian objects, as well as the principles of distinction, precaution, proportionality, and the prohibition of indiscriminate attacks.
Some of these incidents could amount to serious violations of international humanitarian law or war crimes if an independent investigation establishes the necessary legal elements, including the act, intent, context, and connection to the armed conflict when applicable, according to SNHR’s report.
Investigating Enforced Disappearance
The Syrian Network for Human Rights called on the Syrian government to:
- Establish an independent and effective national mechanism to register and investigate all civilian deaths.
- Prioritize the removal of mines and remnants of war in populated areas.
- Protect crime scenes and physical evidence, including mass graves and former detention centers.
- Investigate deaths linked to torture, ill-treatment, or enforced disappearance.
- Control the spread of uncontrolled weapons.
- Adopt national transitional justice policies, including truth-seeking, accountability, reparations, and guarantees of non-recurrence.
SNHR also condemned Israeli occupation forces and called on them to halt military operations in southern Syrian territory, respect Syria’s sovereignty, and take the necessary measures to hold their personnel accountable and protect civilians and civilian objects.
It called on humanitarian organizations and donor bodies to expand awareness programs on the dangers of mines and remnants of war, support the medical response, and integrate mine and war remnant removal activities into the humanitarian response.
In parallel, SNHR called on the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to support capacity-building for Syrian authorities in investigating arbitrary deprivation of life under international standards, particularly the Minnesota Protocol.
It also called on the Independent International Commission of Inquiry and the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism to give special priority to patterns of killings linked to the transitional phase, including killings by unidentified parties and attacks on civilian objects, and to work on preserving and analyzing evidence in a way that supports future accountability.
SNHR appealed to the international community to increase funding allocated to mine removal and support independent investigations.
Tens of Thousands Forcibly Disappeared
The Syrian Network for Human Rights documented at least 181,677 people, including 5,352 children and 9,213 women, among actual detainees, forcibly disappeared persons, and people whose fate or whereabouts remain unknown to parties to the conflict in Syria from March 2011 until June 2026.
According to SNHR, the number of forcibly disappeared persons, excluding detainees and those whose fate is unknown, included at least 177,021 people, among them 4,536 children and 8,984 women.
In its report issued on June 27, SNHR said it had documented the deaths of at least 45,364 people due to torture or harsh or inhuman detention conditions during the same period, including 231 children and 116 women.
SNHR noted that 45,038 victims died inside detention centers affiliated with the former regime, a rate of nearly 99%, while 326 cases were distributed among the other parties to the conflict according to the classification adopted in SNHR’s database.
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