Syrian committee reports 1,426 killed in March violence

Straits Times

7 days ago

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FILE PHOTO: Alawite Syrians, who fled the violence in western Syria, walk in Nahr El Kabir River, after the reported mass killings of Alawite minority members, in Akkar, Lebanon March 11, 2025. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
BEIRUT - A Syrian fact-finding committee said on Tuesday that 1,426 people, including 90 women, had been killed during the March 6-9 violence in the country's coastal regions that witnessed attacks on security forces followed by killings of Alawite Syrians.
The incidents were the worst violence to hit Syria since the downfall of President Bashar al-Assad last year, and the fact-finding committee's work is seen as an important test of the new leadership, made up mainly of former anti-Assad rebel fighters.
In a key finding, the committee concluded that Syrian commanders did not give orders to commit violations and in fact gave orders to halt them.
The committee came up with a list of 298 suspects involved in violations against Alawites and 265 involved in the initial attack on security forces, committee head Jumaa Al-Anzi said.
The names are not being released publicly for now and have been referred to courts for further investigations, while 31 people have been arrested, spokesperson Yasser Farhan said.
The violence began on March 6 with attacks on Syrian security forces stationed in the region that put hospitals and other state institutions out of operation and caused wide areas to fall out of government control, Farhan said.
The committee found that 238 members of the security forces were killed in these attacks, perpetrated by forces aligned with the former Assad government, Farhan said.
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In response to the attacks, around 200,000 armed men mobilized from across Syria, pouring into the coastal region, he said.
This led to violations including killings, theft and sectarian incitement that the committee found were "widespread but not organised," Farhan said.
Farhan said the committee members had full cooperation from government forces as they undertook their months of work. REUTERS