Atrocity Alert is a weekly publication by the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect highlighting situations where populations are at risk of, or are enduring, mass atrocity crimes.

HUNDREDS KILLED IN ARMED CLASHES ACROSS NORTHWEST SYRIA

Between 6-9 March armed clashes erupted in northwest Syria – including in Latakia, Hama and Tartus governorates – after armed groups and individuals loyal to former President Bashar al-Assad ambushed security forces from the transitional government who were conducting a so-called “security campaign.” Reports indicate that more than 1,000 people were killed over four days, including hundreds of civilians, mostly from the Alawite minority group, who were reportedly specifically targeted. The Assad family, which ruled Syria for decades until the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in December, is from the Alawite minority. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk expressed alarm over reports of summary executions carried out on a sectarian basis, calling on the caretaker authorities to take “swift actions to protect Syrians” and ensure “prompt, transparent and impartial investigations into the killings.”

The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) reported that armed groups loyal to Assad extrajudicially killed 383 individuals, including civilians and members of the security forces. Additionally, the SNHR documented that transitional government security forces, along with undisciplined factions, were responsible for the extrajudicial killing of 420 individuals, including civilians and disarmed members of groups loyal to Assad. Reports indicate that entire families from the Alawite minority, including children, were killed while several thousand Alawites have since fled to Lebanon.

Interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa has announced the formation of an independent committee to investigate violations committed on 6 March, with findings expected within 30 days. In a national address the same day, Sharaa pledged to hold all individuals involved in violence against civilians accountable and revealed plans for a second committee aimed at promoting “civil peace” through discussions with, and support for, affected communities.

Since December 2024 Syria’s transitional authorities have sought to dissolve remnants of Assad’s government, hosted a National Dialogue Conference and established a committee to draft a constitutional declaration. However, numerous challenges – including rising tensions, instability and ongoing hostilities in parts of Syria – have tested the transition process. Ongoing reports of targeted attacks against minorities and the recent wave of coastal violence have stoked sectarian tensions and challenged efforts for national unity. On 10 March, however, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces agreed to merge into state institutions, marking a historic agreement and offering hope for a nationwide ceasefire and greater unification of Syria.

The transitional authorities must take urgent action to protect all Syrians, denounce retributive violence, including against minorities, and ensure that perpetrators are held accountable. The temporal scope of the investigative committee should be expanded to include violations committed between 7-9 March, with its findings made public. It is crucial that Syrian caretaker authorities establish guarantees of non-recurrence and promptly facilitate the implementation of a comprehensive transitional justice process to address both historic and ongoing grievances.

INTENSIFYING ETHNIC VIOLENCE IN SOUTHEASTERN CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

A report released on 5 March by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and UN peacekeeping mission (MINUSCA) in the Central African Republic (CAR) documents likely war crimes by armed groups, primarily targeting Muslim communities and Sudanese refugees in the southeastern region of the country. The report details two waves of attacks in Mbomou and Haut-Mbomou prefectures during October 2024 and January 2025, in which at least 24 people were killed, including those who had been summarily executed. The attackers also carried out widespread sexual violence, forcible recruitment and torture.

Wagner Ti Azandé (WTA), an armed group with ties to the national army (FACA), reportedly directed and coordinated the attacks. Elements of the WTA originally belonged to the Azandé Ani Kpi Gbé (AAKG) – a predominantly ethnic Azande armed group – whose members were also involved. The near-complete absence of state security in Mbomou and Haut-Mbomou has led the FACA to collaborate with groups like the AAKG and WTA to dislodge other armed groups, such as the Unité pour la paix en Centrafrique (UPC), a predominantly Fulani group, from their strongholds.

The WTA and AAKG have repeatedly targeted civilians along ethnic lines over alleged association with the UPC and Muslim communities, while UPC abuses are threatening Azande communities. The report found evidence from the October attacks in Dembia and Rafaï of the public execution of a Fulani man by WTA and AAKG fighters, “creating a climate of terror among the population.” Prior to the attacks, a local authority called for violence and hatred against Fulani and other Muslims, including requesting the WTA and AAKG to “cleanse” Dembia. On 21 January WTA fighters attacked a Fulani camp near Mboki, killing at least 12 civilians, including children.

The report utilizes the UN’s Framework of Analysis for Atrocity Crimes to warn that there are significant risks of recurrence, including the tolerance of hate speech on ethnic and religious grounds, a lack of state presence, unclear chain of command and a prevailing climate of impunity. Christine Caldera, CAR expert at the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, said, “The report serves as a crucial early warning tool, highlighting ongoing atrocity risks that demand urgent action to protect populations and prevent further crimes.”

While the government has taken some steps to address the violence, such as the arrests of some WTA members and developing plans to establish a tribunal for affected communities to access justice and combat impunity, immediate measures are necessary to protect vulnerable communities. This includes bolstering coordination and security efforts between MINUSCA and the FACA in Haut-Mbomou and Mbomou and excluding WTA members from the ranks of the FACA. All perpetrators of atrocities in CAR should be held legally accountable. CAR authorities should work with civil society and the UN system to strengthen existing social cohesion and peacebuilding initiatives to prevent any further escalation and reduce inter-communal tensions, including by reviving the Local Peace and Reconciliation Committee in Mbomou.

FORMER PHILIPPINES PRESIDENT DUTERTE ARRESTED UNDER ICC WARRANT

On 11 March authorities in the Philippines announced the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte based on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity committed in relation to the so-called “war on drugs.” At the time of writing, the ICC’s arrest warrant has not been released publicly.

The ICC has been carrying out investigations into allegations of crimes against humanity, including murders committed during Duterte’s presidency, as well as those by the alleged Davao Death Squad while he was mayor of Davao City. Although the Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute in 2019, the ICC retained jurisdiction with respect to alleged crimes that occurred while it was a state party, from November 2011 to March 2019.

During the Duterte administration, police forces and armed vigilantes extrajudicially killed thousands of civilians due to their assumed connection to illicit drugs. According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 8,660 people were killed in police operations and by unidentified gunmen carrying out vigilante-style executions, with thousands of deaths still under investigation. Human rights monitors in the country estimate that the actual toll could be three times higher than the official figure. There has largely been no accountability for abuses in this period. According to Human Rights Watch, only four cases – all involving low-ranking police officers – resulted in convictions for extrajudicial killings.

President Duterte compared his “war on drugs” with the Holocaust and declared his willingness to “slaughter” millions of suspected drug abusers. He continuously made public calls for law enforcement to shoot and kill alleged criminals, with other high-ranking government officials echoing these sentiments. This included the former Justice Secretary, who stated that the killings could not be deemed crimes against humanity as drug offenders were not “part of humanity.” Throughout his term, President Duterte also silenced those opposed to the killings, including by arresting, imprisoning and removing his critics from their government posts and threatening to abolish the Philippines Commission on Human Rights created under the country’s Constitution.

While President Duterte’s supporters, including his family members who still hold positions of power, have condemned the arrest, his transfer to the ICC marks a significant step toward achieving justice for the thousands of victims of the “war on drugs” who have long been denied accountability. In this context, the Philippines should rejoin the Rome Statute. Savita Pawnday, Executive Director of the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, said, “At a time when numerous governments are failing to uphold their ICC commitments and others are undermining or sanctioning the Court, Duterte’s arrest by Philippine authorities is an encouraging and significant moment for international justice and the strength of international law.”