Syria Data Update (June 9-16, 2026)

UXO challenge persists, but 70% of other deaths last week were caused by one thing... Plus ISIS attacks raise early concerns.

The overall level of deadly violence across Syria declined slightly compared to the previous week’s high, with a total of 18 deaths confirmed across the country — 5 (28%) of which were caused by unexploded ordnance (UXO). The fact that violence has remained at higher levels over the past two weeks compared with the previous 3 months, is attributable to one key escalating challenge:

Transitional justice was always going to be a defining challenge for Syria’s post-Assad transition, as the country grapples not just with nearly 14 years of civil conflict (2011-2024) but the costs and grievances resulting from more than half a century of Assad rule as well as from sectarian and internecine killings that followed the regime’s fall. At the crux of the challenge is where to draw the line between justice and reconciliation. While the transitional government has unquestionably cracked down upon ‘remnants’ of the former regime, it has also negotiated deals with some prominent individuals and attempted to provide the space for more low ranking people to move past history and reintegrate.

That latter, pragmatic approach has engendered increasing tensions across the country, as locals identify individuals they accuse of any number of crimes during the 2011-2024 conflict. Early in the transition, this triggered acute levels of vigilante violence and targeted revenge killings, but from October/November 2025, this declined sharply.

However, in recent weeks, the transitional justice issue has surged back onto the public agenda, principally within components of communities across Syria decrying the presence of regime remnants still living in their midst. Throughout Syria, communities have increasingly demanded that such ‘remnants’ be detained, their families be expelled from their homes and their businesses seized. While targeted vigilante killings have subsequently increased — with 18 deaths recorded over the past two weeks — incidents of localized protest, rioting and mob violence (public beatings, vandalism and arson) have surged.

The government’s initial response to this sudden explosion in localized retributive violence has been to reveal the scale and scope of its actions against regime remnants, with the MOI confirming the detention of 5,989 senior officers over the past 18 months. The Justice Ministry, the Commission for Transitional Justice and other official entities have all issued public statements detailing their respective work to pursue transitional justice and calling on citizens to avoid taking the law into their own hands. Whether this increase in public openness will suffice in calming tensions across the country remains to be seen, but there is no doubt that efforts over the past 18 months have been insufficient on all counts and the longer instability and revenge violence continues, the more likely it is to trigger secondary violence — whether a resurgence of the anti-government insurgency, or opportunities for actors like ISIS to exploit.

Beyond vigilantism, which accounted for 9 of 13 (70%) non-UXO deaths this past week, the remaining fatalities were attributable to:

• Suwayda inter-factional violence between rival Druze militiamen left 2 gunmen dead.

• An ISIS suicide attack on an MOI building in Raqqa city left 1 officer dead.

• Clashes between rival families in Daraa’s al-Maliha al-Sharqiya left one combatant dead.

Also of note is that ISIS appears to be attempting to increase its operational tempo — having conducted 4 attacks over the past week:

• Two ISIS gunmen on a motorbike opened fire at an Iraqi oil tanker driving on the Aleppo-Manbij highway late on June 13. It caused minor damage and no casualties.

• Two suspected ISIS militants on a motorbike opened fire on a truck carrying salt in the desert outside Palmyra on June 14. It caused light damage and no casualties.

• One MOI officer was killed and 3 others were injured when 2 ISIS militants stormed a local MOI security headquarters in Raqqa on June 15, prompting an armed clash during which one of the ISIS militants detonated his explosive vest.

• A local judicial official in Babila, Damascus was severely injured when an IED concealed inside his vehicle was detonated by ISIS on June 16.

These attacks stand out for their having targeting of locally or strategically significant targets. In particular, attacks on trucks traversing Syria, if sustained, risks impacting confidence in Syria as a corridor for land transit — a recent new source of revenue that Syria has gained via Iraqi trade, both in oil and other commercial goods.