Who Are The Alawites, Why They Are Being Hunted Down And Killed In Syria

New Delhi:

With Bashar al-Assad’s departure, the destiny of Syria’s Alawite neighborhood stays precarious. As soon as empowered by the regime, many Alawites now face reprisals from insurgent factions and displaced Sunni populations who suffered underneath Assad’s rule. Revenge assaults have already killed over 1,000 individuals, together with tons of of Alawites, as energy dynamics in Syria shift violently. The violence is among the many deadliest since Syria’s battle started 14 years in the past.

In line with the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), 745 civilians-mostly shot at shut range-were among the many useless. One other 125 authorities safety personnel and 148 militants linked to Assad-affiliated armed teams had been additionally killed. The preventing has left giant components of Latakia with out electrical energy and consuming water.

SOHR reported that Syrian safety forces executed no less than 162 Alawites in “subject executions” in Latakia province, a stronghold of Assad, who belongs to the sect. The Syrian Inside Ministry acknowledged “particular person violations” alongside the coast and vowed to take motion.

The clashes, which erupted Thursday, are a serious problem to Syria’s new rulers, who took energy three months in the past after eradicating Assad. The federal government claims it was responding to assaults from remnants of Assad’s forces and downplayed the killings as remoted incidents.

Who Are The Alawites?

The Alawites are a spiritual minority in Syria, constituting about 12 per cent of the inhabitants. Originating from Shia Islam, they’ve distinct beliefs and rituals. Traditionally, the Alawites have been concentrated in Syria’s coastal areas, particularly in Latakia and Tartus provinces.

The Assad household, which dominated Syria for over 5 a long time till December 2024, belongs to the Alawite sect. Throughout their rule, Alawites held vital positions within the navy and authorities, resulting in perceptions of preferential remedy.

Why Are They Being Killed?

After Assad’s ousting, armed Sunni factions, reportedly loyal to the brand new authorities, launched revenge killings in opposition to Alawites, additional deepening Syria’s sectarian divide. This escalation threatens the authority of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the hardline Sunni faction that performed a central position in eradicating Assad from energy.

For many years, Alawites shaped the spine of Assad’s assist base. Now, they’re going through lethal reprisals. Eyewitnesses described harrowing scenes in Alawite villages, the place gunmen executed civilians, most of them males, both within the streets or at their doorsteps. Houses had been looted and torched, forcing hundreds to flee to the close by mountains.

Baniyas, one of many worst-hit cities, has witnessed a number of the most brutal assaults. Residents reported seeing our bodies strewn on the streets and deserted on rooftops. In some circumstances, gunmen prevented locals from gathering the our bodies of their neighbours for hours.

Ali Sheha, a 57-year-old resident who fled together with his household, described a bloodbath in his neighborhood, the place no less than 20 Alawites had been killed. Some had been executed of their outlets, others inside their properties.

“It was very very unhealthy. Our bodies had been on the streets,” Sheha recounted through telephone from a close-by city. The gunmen had been firing at random individuals, asking for IDs to examine individuals’s sect earlier than killing them, Sheha mentioned.

Worldwide Reactions

France has expressed “deep concern” over the continuing violence, strongly condemning atrocities dedicated on spiritual grounds. In an announcement on Saturday, the French International Ministry urged Syria’s interim authorities to make sure impartial investigations into the mass killings.