Shia Rights Watch(SRW) presents its monthly report documenting significant human rights violations committed against Shia Muslims between May 1 and June 1, 2025.

Shia Rights Watch issues its monthly report on the most prominent human rights violations committed against Shia Muslims for the period from May 1 to June 1, 2025.

This report reviews numerous terrorist operations carried out by extremist groups against Shia individuals, as well as acts of repression and abuse practiced against them by certain regimes and governments.

Shia Rights Watch confirms that it relied in this report on its own sources and some public sources, such as individuals and groups active in the field of freedoms and human rights spread across the countries that witnessed these violations.

SRW notes that it refrained from mentioning some violations due to the absence of conclusive evidence, despite being certain of their occurrence in some countries, emphasizing that it does not seek political or profit goals in its work, but rather aims to achieve justice and equality aspired to by human societies.

Countries Listed Alphabetically:

Afghanistan

• 05/16: Armed groups affiliated with the Taliban, accompanied by nomadic elements, launched a coordinated attack on the village of Safed Sang in the Behsud district of Maidan Wardak province. According to local sources, the attackers targeted unarmed residents’ homes, conducting looting and torture under the direct supervision of the Taliban governor of the province, Hashim Huzaifa. Approximately twenty armed individuals participated in the attack, causing panic among civilians, with no immediate response from the de facto authorities. Human rights organizations described the attack as part of a systematic policy aimed at land seizure and forced demographic changes, resembling ethnic cleansing practices by the Taliban against residents of certain areas, particularly in Behsud, predominantly inhabited by Shia Hazaras.

Pakistan

• 05/14: A radical gunman threw a hand grenade at a pro-army public gathering in Quetta, resulting in the death of one person and injuries to ten others of varying severity.

• 05/21: Civil authorities in the Baharia municipality of Karachi removed Hussaini images and banners displayed by Shia residents on and above their homes, threatening to cut off water and electricity to those who refused this arbitrary action.

Bahrain

• During May, security authorities prevented Shia worshippers from holding Friday prayers. Security forces imposed near-complete cordons around Imam Al-Sadiq Mosque in the village of Diraz every Friday, marking the thirty-fourth consecutive week of such restrictions.

Lebanon

• 05/08: An Aircraft conducted a series of intense air raids targeting several areas in southern Lebanon. Lebanese media reported that the raids targeted the outskirts of the town of Nabatieh Al-Fawqa, with warplanes carrying out more than 15 strikes in the Nabatieh district, causing material damage to properties and instilling fear among civilians.

Syria

• 05/01: Security forces conducted a raid in the village of Al-Raqama, inhabited by Alawite community members in eastern Homs countryside, arresting five civilians following an incident where an unidentified gunman fired shots into the air within the village.

• 05/03: In a tragic morning in northern Homs countryside, unidentified gunmen committed a horrific crime in the town of Kafr Nan, killing four farmers while they were working in their fields. The victims were: Safa Khader Al-Abbas (65), a retired teacher; Nashmiya Ibrahim Eid (60), Al-Abbas’s wife; Nazmiya Sweid (47), a local farmer; and Namir Al-Mustafa (Al-Mallash) (45), a well-known farmer in the area. Eyewitnesses reported that the victims were directly targeted during their work without prior warning or confrontation, indicating premeditated and deliberate execution at close range.

• 05/03: Three civilians from the same family were killed by gunfire from an unidentified armed group while working in their agricultural land in Ain Badriya village in western Al-Ghab plain. The victims were Musab Zublo, Amjad Zublo, and Majd Zublo, who died instantly due to severe injuries.

• 05/04: A woman was killed and her husband injured in a shooting by two unidentified individuals on a motorcycle while the couple was sitting on their balcony in Wadi Al-Dhahab neighborhood (Beit Al-Tawil Street) in Homs city.

• 05/04: Dozens of Alawite families in the Al-Zahriyat housing area near Mezzeh Military Airport in Damascus face serious threats of forced eviction from their homes without legal compensation or alternative housing. Armed factions affiliated with the Ministries of Defense and Interior, stationed inside the airport, informed residents to vacate their homes permanently before the end of May.

• 05/05: Mohammad Abdul Latif Ismail was killed by direct gunfire from unidentified gunmen in front of his home in Al-Zaafarana Al-Gharbiya village on the Shin road. Reports indicate that a car stopped in front of his house, and the gunmen knocked on the door; upon opening, they shot him, resulting in immediate death.

• 05/06: Ali Muna was killed, and Jaafar Muna seriously injured after being shot by two gunmen on a motorcycle in Al-Jibibat area near Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam School in Jableh city, Latakia countryside.

• 05/06: The body of Louay Hassan Darwish (Abu Hassan) was found in Al-Muwasat Hospital in Damascus after he had been missing since May 4. He had lost contact while working as a taxi driver in the capital.

• 05/06: Dr. Khairat Mohammad, an assistant professor at Homs University, was arrested by a group affiliated with general security after raiding his home in Karm Al-Zaytoun neighborhood—Street 17 in Homs city. Personal belongings, including cash, gold jewelry, mobile phones, student files, and a laptop, were confiscated without presenting any legal warrant or explanation.

• 05/06: Four civilians were killed while working in their agricultural fields in Ain Al-Jouza village in Salanfa area due to an attack by an armed group.

• 05/06: Two young men, Hussein Ahmad Abu Hassan and Asif Ahmad Abu Hassan, were killed, and a third person injured after being shot by unidentified gunmen while irrigating their agricultural land in northern Hamra area, Hama countryside.

• 05/06: An armed group affiliated with the new Syrian administration stormed Balqasa village in western Homs countryside, shooting and killing a young Alawite man, then arresting his father and two brothers and taking them to an unknown location.

• 05/08: Five people, including three brothers, were injured when two gunmen on a motorcycle randomly opened fire in Karm Al-Zaytoun neighborhood in Homs. The attackers also shouted sectarian insults against the Alawite community.

• 05/08: Mira Jalal Thabet, a young woman from Talkalakh city west of Homs, appeared wearing Afghan attire alongside a young man claiming to have married her after kidnapping her last month, despite her being engaged to another man working in Lebanon. Her father had reported her disappearance, but was subsequently arrested on charges of “filing a false report.”

• 05/09: Mohammad Darwish, a young man from Saboura village in Hama countryside, was kidnapped by armed men who stormed his home without identifying themselves or providing reasons for the abduction. The family stated that the kidnappers claimed affiliation with general security but presented no official documents, and authorities in Saboura denied any involvement.

• 05/09: Armed men in two “Santa Fe” vehicles attacked homes in Yahmour and Kherbet Maaza towns in Tartus countryside, causing property damage but no casualties. In Hababa village in Dreikish countryside, armed groups raided several homes, vandalized properties, and kidnapped ten residents, taking them to unknown locations.

• 05/10: Two separate shooting incidents in Homs city resulted in the deaths of two civilians under mysterious security circumstances. In Al-Shamas neighborhood, Rifaat Mahmoud Al-Jarash from Aysun village in Homs countryside was shot dead in front of his rented home. In Karm Shamsham neighborhood, Mohammad Suleiman Younes, a taxi driver, was killed while heading to work, shot by armed individuals, dying instantly in his vehicle.

• 05/10: A foreign faction comprising Uzbek and Turkistani fighters from Qarfeis area executed civilians, including a child, near Zama town in Latakia countryside. The same group also fired directly at civilians in Zama and Ain Al-Sharqiya villages, killing at least four people, identified as Hilal Al-Ali and Anwar Hamada.

• 05/12: In Al-Da’tour neighborhood in Latakia, a security patrol assaulted two young men, beating and insulting them before arresting and taking them to an unknown location, firing shots to disperse locals who tried to intervene.

• 05/13: In Al-Thabitiyah village, eastern Homs countryside, an incident sparked concern among residents when an armed group entered the village and detained several young men in a harsh manner. Local sources report that the group raided several homes, detained the youth in their vehicles, and paraded them through the streets before forcing them to stand against a wall near a main road while subjecting them to verbal abuse with religious overtones.

• 05/13: Security violations escalated significantly in Homs province. Armed groups carried out a wave of arbitrary raids, arrests, and sectarian assaults. Shia youth returning from Lebanon—who were promised safe return—were forcibly taken off buses at Al-Mazraa roundabout, beaten, and insulted before being taken to an unknown destination.

  In Al-Thabitiyah (eastern Homs), an armed group stormed the village at dawn, assaulted residents, and detained 14 young men, some of whom remain missing. In Al-Hazmiyah, intense gunfire and random arrests targeted both elderly and youth, causing widespread fear. Similar raids occurred in Homs neighborhoods like Al-Arman, Al-Muhajireen, Al-Sabeel, Al-Ahram, and Al-Khudariyah, where Alawite civilians were arrested amid sectarian insults and random gunfire, wounding a girl.

  Videos circulated online showing children screaming during the raids. Other villages, including Abu Dali, Abu Hakfa, and Khalfa in eastern Homs, experienced the same pattern of unchecked violence and detentions. Public buses in western Homs are regularly stopped by security agents who beat Shia youth, subjecting them to daily abuse.

• 05/14: In western Homs, rogue factions launched a raid campaign in Hadeedah and Ain Al-Tineh Al-Sharqiyah, resulting in arrests and injuries due to random gunfire.

• 05/14: In Jableh, 48-year-old Majd Nazih Darwish was kidnapped after receiving a phone call. On his way near Siano intersection, he was intercepted by two masked men in cars, forced out of his vehicle, and taken to an unknown location.

• 05/16: Security forces, accompanied by loyalist militants, raided villages in western Homs including Hadeedah, Baayoun, Al-Naaseh, and Al-Mashrafah. Residents avoided leaving their homes due to fear of arrest or mistreatment. The raids coincided with a dire living crisis—residents face severe food shortages and economic hardship, resorting to wild herbs like mallow and dandelion for sustenance.

• 05/18: In Hama countryside, unidentified gunmen attacked two young men on a motorcycle traveling from Bureen to Masyaf. Ali Asaad was killed, and Hassan Shahoud injured.

• 05/18: In Tartus, a young woman, Itab Salim Jadid, was kidnapped near the seafront promenade.

• 05/18: In Al-Baloutiya village, Tartus countryside, gunmen randomly fired shots, killing a young man, Darrar Ibrahim.

• 05/18: Widespread arbitrary raids and arrests were reported in Shia-majority cities across Homs, Hama, Latakia, and Tartus. Some operations were led by official security forces, while others involved unidentified gunmen. Detainees faced mistreatment, were held in undisclosed locations, and had belongings confiscated. Victims included individuals previously granted amnesty, students, farmers, and workers from healthcare and education sectors.

• 05/19: Homs descended into chaos with kidnappings, killings, and theft. In eastern Homs, a young bread distributor, Hani Fitna, was abducted in Sukkara village. Kidnappers demanded a $70,000 ransom. Separately, engineer assistant Mohammad Mihoub Abboud from Tartus was found murdered in his apartment in Jandar housing complex, hands bound and throat slit. On the Zaidal–Homs road, gunmen robbed Issa Mundher Qasim of his food-laden vehicle and phone.

• 05/21: Security-led raids targeted Bustan Al-Hamam and Al-Gharziyya villages in Baniyas countryside, Tartus. Entrances were sealed, gunmen spread throughout, especially in Bustan Al-Hamam, where gunfire and arbitrary arrests were reported. Al-Gharziyya witnessed security tensions and at least two arrests.

• 05/22: In Latakia countryside, masked gunmen shot and killed a young man in Qatariyya village near an agricultural office.

• 05/24: Armed groups kidnapped four university students—Samir Milhem, Hamza Zamzam, Khaled Al-Sayed, and Ali Ahmad—after stopping their civilian vehicle in Homs countryside.

• 05/24: A bloody night unfolded in Tartus with three simultaneous murders. In Majdaloun Al-Bahr, three gunmen in a white Hyundai Porter shot and killed Shadi Mahmoud Fasik outside his barbershop. Separately, Hikmat Saleh was murdered near Al-Khraybat bridge, and Hassan Toufan was shot twice in the head, dying instantly.

• 05/26: In Al-Waer neighborhood, Homs, the body of Samer Fahim Afara was found after he had gone missing near Talaat Rakan.

• 05/26: In Latakia countryside, five civilians from Maala and Zoubari families were killed while farming in Al-Kandisiyah. Gunmen on motorcycles shot at them, injuring two others—one critically.

• 05/28: In Al-Haffa, northern Latakia, gunmen raided homes, opened fire, and arrested two local youths.

• 05/29: In Filla village, Homs, a young man was severely injured when gunmen fired at him on a rural road.

• 05/29: In Al-Kadhimiyah, Homs, an armed group stormed the village and executed local resident Mohammad Ali Aslan.

• 05/30: In Barmaiyah, Baniyas countryside, government-affiliated gunmen raided several homes and arrested two residents—one a retired 70-year-old, and the other a 55-year-old municipal employee.

  Saudi Arabia

• 05/03: Authorities executed brothers Hassan and Abdullah Mohammad Ghaith from Al-Malaha village, Qatif, over political charges.
• 05/10: Authorities executed Abdullah Abdulaziz Abu Abdullah, a detainee from Al-Awamiyah, Qatif.
• 05/17: Authorities arrested prominent Pakistani cleric Allama Ghulam Hasnain Wijdani from Quetta at Taif Airport without explanation.
• 05/29: A court in Riyadh sentenced two young detainees from Al-Awamiyah—Abdullah Mohammad Al-Faraj and Ahmad Mohammad Al-Manasif—to death. They were both under 19 when arrested two years ago.