The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) is a UK-based monitoring group founded in May 2006 by Rami Abdulrahman (born Ossama/Osama Suleiman). It has been one of the most frequently cited sources on casualties, daily events, and human rights violations throughout the Syrian conflict that began with protests in March 2011.
It operates primarily from Abdulrahman’s home in Coventry, England. He is a Syrian who fled after periods of imprisonment related to activism and has described running a clothing shop alongside the monitoring work.
SOHR is as independent and not linked to any political body, with a stated mission to document abuses, preserve truth, and support justice, equality, freedom, and democracy in Syria.
SOHR began by focusing on political prisoners, detainees of conscience, and rights under the Assad government. It built a network of activists, lawyers, and contacts inside Syria. When the 2011 uprising escalated into armed conflict and foreign media access was heavily restricted, SOHR shifted to near-daily reporting on developments, deaths, and abuses across the country.
SOHR has reported violations attributed to the Syrian government and its allies (including Russian and Iranian-backed forces), opposition and rebel groups, ISIS and other jihadist factions, Kurdish-led forces, Turkish-backed groups, coalition operations, and others. Its casualty tallies have been widely used by major outlets (Reuters, AFP, BBC, AP, and others) and referenced in broader discussions of the war’s toll.
Methodology:
SOHR relies on a network of sources and activists inside Syria (historically described as hundreds of contacts, with core coordinators helping collate information).
Reports are cross-checked using multiple independent accounts, video/photo evidence, medical or field reports, and other corroboration before publication. Sources often remain anonymous for safety. The group publishes via its website (syriahr.com), social media, and press releases that media outlets routinely cite.
Role and Impact:
In the information vacuum of the early war years, SOHR filled a practical gap: it provided timely, granular counts and incident reports when few independent observers could operate openly. International media, some human rights researchers, and analysts frequently treated its figures as a baseline (while often noting caveats).
Post- Assad’s regime
SOHR’s work in the current period under Syria’s transitional government (led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, Abu Muhammad al-Julani leader of HTS) has continued its long-standing pattern of daily monitoring, casualty counts, and documentation of violations by multiple actors.
SOHR has treated this period as a continuation of its mandate: tracking political, military, humanitarian, and security developments while publishing frequent updates.
As of early August 2026, SOHR reported approximately 13,687 people killed in Syria since the fall of the former regime. and ongoing ISIS activity.
SOHR continues independently and has criticized the transitional authorities.
In late 2025 it issued a statement condemning what it described as the most severe smear and digital suppression campaign it had faced since its founding, attributing it to state institutions including the Presidential Media Office and Ministry of Information. It has accused the new power of practices reminiscent of previous repression while still calling for accountability, civil peace, and documentation of all violations.
The Rule of HTS After Assad
SOHR’s documentation of these three major incidents in 2025 under the transitional authorities provides detailed casualty figures, descriptions of events, and attributions based on its network of sources. These reports form part of its ongoing monitoring of post-Assad violence.
Key SOHR tallies:
By 17 March: Total fatalities exceeded 2,000 (specifically 2,089). Breakdown: 1,557 civilians (mostly executed over sectarian affiliation by Interior/Defence Ministry members and auxiliaries), 273 security/Ministry of Defence members, and 259 Alawite gunmen.
Violence and Massacres in Suwayda (July 2025)
SOHR tracked rising death tolls over subsequent weeks, (e.g., toward 1,653 in one report), with executed numbers increasing to hundreds (including medical staff at Suwayda National Hospital). Breakdowns typically included hundreds from the local population (civilians and fighters), hundreds of government/security forces, and smaller numbers from airstrikes or other causes.
Violence against Christians
Bombing of the Church in Damascus (Mar Elias Church, 22 June 2025)On 22 June 2025, during Divine Liturgy at the Greek Orthodox Mar Elias (St. Elias) Church in the Dweila/Dweil-Damascus.
SOHR reported at least 22 people killed and 60 people wounded.
In refuting the narrative of the Ministry of Interior who attributed the attack to ISIS;
One SOHR-related note mentioned an injured attacker treated at a hospital who was identified as affiliated with the Ministry of Defence and from Deir ez-Zor.
During 2025-2026, the SOHR documented dozens of violations against Christians in various parts of the country, perpetrated by followers of the current authority led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
The Hidden Wings of the Observatory
The Shadows and Secrets of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights – The Hidden Wings of the Observatory
The Observatory is completely independent and not linked to any agendas or suspicious funding—in fact, it faces financial difficulties at many stages due to its boldness.
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