This is a list of massacres committed during the Syrian civil war.
2011
Between 31 July and 4 August 2011, during the Siege of Hama, Syrian government forces reportedly killed more than 100 people in an assault on the city of Hama. Opposition activists later raised their estimated civilian death toll to 200 dead. Between 19 and 20 December 2011, a massacre occurred in the Jabal al-Zawiya mountains of Idlib Governorate. The killings started after a large group of soldiers tried to defect from Army positions over the border to Turkey. Intense clashes between the military and the defectors, who were supported by other rebel fighters, erupted. After two days of fighting, 235 defectors, 100 pro-government soldiers and 120 civilians were killed.
2012
On 27 February 2012, during the 2012 Homs offensive, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that 68 bodies were found between the villages of Ram al-Enz and Ghajariyeh and were taken to the central hospital of Homs. The wounds showed that some of the dead were shot while others were killed by cutting weapons. The Rebel Local Coordination Committees reported that 64 dead bodies were found. The rebels claimed that the victims were civilians who tried to flee the battle in Homs and were then killed by a pro-government militia. On 9 March 2012, during the 2012 Homs offensive, 30 tanks of the Syrian Army entered the quarter of Karm al-Zeitoun. After this, it was reported that the Syrian Army had massacred 47 women and children in the district (26 children and 21 women), some of whom had their throats slit, according to activists. The opposition claimed that the main perpetrators behind the killings were the government paramilitary force the Shabiha. On 5 April, the military captured Taftanaz's city center after a two-hour battle, following which the army reportedly carried out a massacre by rounding up and executing people. At least 62 people were killed. It was unknown how many were opposition fighters and how many were civilians. On 25 May 2012, the Houla massacre occurred in two opposition-controlled villages in the Houla region of Syria, a cluster of villages north of Homs. According to the United Nations, 108 people were killed, including 34 women and 49 children. UN investigators reported that witnesses and survivors provided two conflicting narratives. The Syrian government alleged that Al-Qaeda terrorist groups were responsible for the killings, and that Houla residents were warned not to speak publicly by opposition forces. On 29 May 2012, a mass execution was discovered near the eastern city of Deir ez-Zor. The unidentified corpses of 13 men had been discovered shot to death execution-style. On 5 June 2012, the rebel Al-Nusra Front claimed responsibility for the killings, stating that they had captured and interrogated the soldiers in Deir ez-Zor and "justly" punished them with death, after they confessed to crimes. On 31 May 2012, there were reports of a massacre in the Syrian village of al-Buwaida al-Sharqiya. According to sources, 13 factory workers had been rounded up and shot dead by pro-government forces. On 6 June 2012, the Al-Qubeir massacre occurred in the small village of Al-Qubeir near Hama. According to preliminary evidence, troops had surrounded the village which was followed by pro-government Shabiha militia entering the village and killing civilians with "barbarity," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the UN Security Council. The death toll, according to opposition activists, was estimated to be between 55 and 68. Activists, and witnesses, stated that scores of civilians, including children, had been killed by Shabiha militia and security forces, while the Syrian government said that nine people had been killed by "terrorists". On 23 June 2012, 25 local Shabiha policemen POWs were killed by Syrian rebels in the city of Darat Izza. They were part of a larger group of POWs captured by the rebels. The fate of the others POWs was unknown. Many of the corpses of the shabiha militia killed were in military uniform. Between 20 and 25 August 2012, the Darayya massacre was reported in the town of Darayya in the Rif Dimashq province. Between 320 and 500 people were killed in a five-day Army assault on the town, which was rebel-held. At least 18 of the dead were identified as rebels. According to the opposition, Human Rights Watch and some local residents the killings were committed by the Syrian military and Shabiha militiamen. According to the government and some local residents they were committed by rebel forces. Between 8 and 13 October 2012, during the Battle of Maarrat Al-Nu'man, the Syrian Army was accused by the opposition of executing 65 people, including 50 defecting soldiers.