Scores of Syria Alawites killed as HTS sectarian violence continues

The forces of the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham-led (HTS) administration have killed at least 42 Alawites during the past two weeks, a month after the massacre of approximately 1,700 members of the religious minority in Syria’s coastal areas.

The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that since the end of Ramadan on March 30, 42 Syrian Alawites lost their lives due to sectarian violence, with incidents occurring from Latakia to Tartus and extending inland to Homs.

Rami Abdurrahman, the head of the SOHR, noted that while the scale of the violence has shifted to individual acts, the killings have not ceased. “The killings did not stop, but now they are individual acts,” he stated, highlighting the persisting threat to the minority community.

Syria’s de-facto leader, former al-Qaeda in Iraq commander Abu Mohammad al-Julani has attempted to justify these brutal acts as “mistakes” occurring during a counterinsurgency operation against what his administration refers to as the “remnants” of the ousted Bashar al-Assad government.

However, Alawites in the affected areas express deep fear and confusion regarding this narrative, feeling increasingly isolated and targeted.

Adding to the community’s distress, the Britain-based monitor group reported a troubling rise in enforced disappearances and kidnappings, with at least 17 women and minors reported missing in recent weeks.

Activists have also highlighted that even those opposed to the Assad government have not been spared. Mohammed Saleh, a former political prisoner, said that 18 of his Alawite friends who opposed Assad were also killed in last month’s attacks.

Saleh emphasized the dire need for an inclusive national army and security agencies that represent all sects and religions, stating, “There cannot be a state for everyone when security agencies belong to one sect.”