The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed on Monday that militants affiliated with the new leadership in Syria carried out 35 executions in the past 72 hours against members of former President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Authorities emerging from opposition factions that overthrew Assad last month stated that they had arrested "dozens of members of factions involved in security operations in the northern and western countryside of Homs, accused of committing violations in villages in these areas in recent days," according to AFP.

The Syrian state news agency SANA reported that Syrian authorities said, "A criminal group exploited this situation to commit abuses against residents, impersonating security personnel.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, these arrests followed severe violations and field executions that targeted 35 people in the past 72 hours and the humiliation of dozens from the minority sect, confirming that most of those executed were former members of Assad's government.

The Observatory reported that "dozens of members of local armed groups under the control of the new ruling coalition, who participated in security operations" in the Homs area, were arrested.

The Observatory added that "local militants are carrying out retaliatory operations and settling old scores against members of the minority sect, without resorting to the law, taking advantage of the state of chaos and the spread of weapons, and their proximity to military operations management.

The violations, according to the Observatory, included random arrest campaigns targeting dozens of people, humiliating and degrading them in a brutal manner, as well as attacking religious symbols, in clear violation of human values.

The Observatory continued that the violations "did not stop there but escalated to crimes of mutilating corpses, field executions, and brutal killings that targeted several civilians, reflecting an unprecedented level of cruelty and violence."