Several Syrian cities have been swept by angry protests targeting figures associated with deposed dictator Bashar al-Assad’s regime , as frustration over the slow pace of justice for war crimes spills onto the streets and raises fresh fears of sectarian unrest.
The demonstrations, which have spread across Damascus, Hama, Aleppo, Idlib, Daraa and central Syria, come amid mounting public anger that too few officials from the former regime have been brought to justice more than 18 months after Assad's overthrow.
"The crimes suffered at the hands of Assad and his entourage remain an open wound," Syrian affairs journalist Tam Hussein told The New Arab. But as protesters attack homes and property belonging to people accused of ties to the former regime, others warn that demands for justice risk evolving into collective punishment against Syria's Alawite community.
"These riots are terrible for two reasons," author and commentator Robin Yassin-Kassab told The New Arab . "Maybe in some cases they're going to actual criminals, but in other cases they're just going to places where Alawites live."
The unrest has been particularly intense in Tadmor, also known as Palmyra, where residents have staged three consecutive days of demonstrations. Videos circulating on social media show homes and vehicles set ablaze, while groups of men on motorcycles move through neighbourhoods searching for people they accuse of being Shabiha, a term used for militias and loyalists associated with the former regime.
Tensions also erupted on Tuesday night in Damascus's Alawite-majority district of Mazzeh 86, where security forces established checkpoints after demonstrations spread from the neighbouring Sheikh Saad area.
Local sources told The New Arab that some residents were instructed to close their homes and businesses as fears of further unrest grew.
Similar protests demanding the expulsion of people accused of ties to the former regime have also taken place in towns and cities across Aleppo, Idlib, Hama and Daraa provinces, with incidents of vandalism reported in several locations. What sparked these protests? According to Hussein, the unrest is the result of several grievances that have accumulated over recent months.
A major source of anger was the recent discovery of a mass grave in the Damascus neighbourhood of Ish al-Warwar containing at least 15 bodies believed to belong to people detained and killed by the Assad regime. Some were reportedly found with ropes tied around their limbs.
The discovery revived painful memories of the years following Assad's fall, when mass graves containing the remains of detainees and forcibly disappeared Syrians were uncovered across the country.
Growing resentment has also emerged over long-running property disputes, particularly in Damascus's Mazzeh district.
Hussein said many residents remain angry that homes confiscated from Damascene families during Assad's rule were allocated to people brought from Syria's coastal regions, including some who worked within the former regime.
At the same time, millions of Syrians continue to struggle with poverty and soaring living costs .
Frustration over worsening economic conditions has further fuelled the protests, with some people increasingly directing their anger towards Alawite communities perceived as having benefited from the former regime. Fears of sectarian violence The unrest has reignited fears among Syria's minorities after a series of sectarian attacks since Assad's fall.
Hundreds of Alawites were killed in Syria's coastal region last year after remnants of the former regime launched an uprising, while deadly violence later struck the Druze-majority province of Suweida.
Although authorities have launched investigations and trials related to some of those incidents, critics say progress has been slow and lacking in transparency.
Hussein said many Alawites now fear a repeat of previous violence if the current unrest continues unchecked.
The journalist argued that protecting minorities remains one of the biggest tests facing the government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa. "Minority groups' treatment is a lightning rod for the government. If they succeed in protecting them, that means they'll be far more acceptable to the international community," he said.
The issue remains particularly sensitive as Syria seeks to rebuild relations with Western countries, attract investment and consolidate gains made since the lifting of most international sanctions.
Yassin-Kassab said the latest unrest highlighted the dangers of allowing legitimate demands for accountability to become entangled with sectarian grievances.
"That's awful. If Syria can't calm down its sectarianism and its identity politics, it's going to continue in this kind of no-war, no-peace, unstable situation," he said.
"It will be a country no one wants to visit, no one wants to invest in, and it won't be safe and comfortable for anyone of any sect." Justice delayed Since Assad's fall, the government has pledged to hold accountable officials responsible for war crimes, torture and other abuses committed during the conflict that devastated Syria between 2011 and 2024.
Security forces have carried out arrests and operations targeting former regime figures, while April saw the first major trial of a former Assad-era official.
Among those facing prosecution is Atef Najib, Assad's cousin and the former Political Security chief in Daraa, who is accused of crimes linked to the detention and torture of children whose arrests helped spark the Syrian uprising in 2011.
Yet many Syrians believe progress remains too slow.
Hussein said a lack of trained judges and the scale of crimes committed under the former regime have hampered efforts to deliver justice.
"Syrians are divided over how much the state should forgive, and how much the government hears the people's calls," he said.
"It's still not clear how the government can strike that balance."
Yassin-Kassab also criticised inadequate official response to the latest unrest. He argued that authorities had failed to act against protesters taking the law into their own hands and said Sharaa should address the issue publicly.
The author noted that many Sunnis also served within Assad's state apparatus and warned that innocent Alawites were increasingly "paying the price" for crimes committed by others.
With the wounds of the Assad era still raw, and economic hardship continuing to bite, both analysts warned that the protests are unlikely to disappear soon.
For Syria's new authorities, the challenge will be satisfying demands for justice without allowing them to descend into a new cycle of sectarian violence.