Security camera recordings from Sheikh Hammoud Akhwan’s home show fighters from the de facto authorities breaking into the house on July 15 and forcing unarmed male residents outside, while hurling sectarian slurs as they humiliated the family.

The attackers entered with the intent to loot, which they carried out after committing the massacre. In one of the crime’s most gruesome chapters, the perpetrators hunted down and executed two children inside the home after they initially survived the gunfire.

What shocked viewers most in the footage was the extraordinary bravery of 13-year-old Saleh Samir Akhwan, who launched himself unarmed at the gunmen, prompting his older brother Yusuf to join him in a courageous act of defiance.

Moments later, the militants opened fire, executing:
• Samir Akwan
• Yousef Akwan (15)
• Saleh Akwan (13)
• Sheikh Abu Ihab Kamil Al-Dahouk
• Akram Al-Awaj
• Wael Al-Awaj (22)

Despite spelling mistakes that rendered the graffiti almost meaningless, armed militants from the General Security and Ministry of Defense of the de facto authorities, backed by loyalist tribal militias, left their imprint on the walls of Najib Al-Zoghbi Elementary School in the town of ‘Ara, western Suwayda, during their mid-July incursion.

The very classrooms where local children once cut their teeth on learning, scribbling on chalkboards and proudly displaying their artwork, have now been defaced and transformed into a propaganda canvas of extremist jihadist ideology — a chilling reminder of a systematic campaign of terror, persecution, and sectarian hatred that swept through the province with fire and sword.

This humble school, one of dozens that have been deliberately targeted in what may constitute war crimes and cultural vandalism, was built to prepare young minds for a brighter future. Instead, it has become a graveyard of dreams, echoing with religious chants that trampled the dignity and rights of hundreds of innocent children and families. These acts not only violate basic human decency but also breach international humanitarian law which protects schools and civilians in times of conflict.

September 8, 2025
🔴 Body of Elderly Alawite Man Found Two Days After Abduction

🔹Homs: On September 6, members of the de facto authorities abducted 67-year-old taxi driver Izzat Shawish (Abu Nabil), a resident of the Zahraa neighborhood in Homs.

His body was discovered today, September 8, with a gunshot wound to the head and transferred to Al-Waer Hospital.