Alawite teen killed at checkpoint as sectarian violence surges in Syria
Shafaq News/ An 18-year-old Alawite man was shot dead at an armed group checkpoint in the town of Shin, west of Homs, on Wednesday, as Syria faces a sharp rise in sectarian killings and abductions following the collapse of al-Assad regime.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the teenager was riding to work with a companion on a motorcycle when they were stopped by gunmen affiliated with pro-government factions tied to the defense and interior ministries. The assailants questioned the pair about their sect before executing one and briefly detaining the other. The body remained at the scene for hours before their ID cards were found near the local police station.
#المرصد_السوري تصاعد في حـ ـوادث الـ ـعـ ـنـ ـف الطائفي.. إعـ ـدام شابين أحدهما في #حمص والآخر في #حماة https://t.co/9UC5hZITA9
— المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان (@syriahr) June 11, 2025
The killing is one of several violent incidents reported in recent days. In rural Hama, a young shopkeeper was gunned down in his store in the village of Turkmen Musa by two masked men on a motorcycle. Despite a heavy security presence in the area, the attackers escaped, raising suspicions of insider involvement.
#المرصد_السوري استمرارا لـ ـحـ ـوادث الـ ـعـ ـنـ ـف.. استشهاد مدني بـ ـرصـ ـاص عـ ـصـ ـابـ ـة مـ ـسـ ـلّـ ـحـ ـة في ريف #مصياف https://t.co/QHTPLNevmc
— المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان (@syriahr) June 11, 2025
Meanwhile, factions known as 'Hamzat' and 'Amshat' abducted three displaced Kurdish men from Afrin while they were traveling from Qamishli to Aleppo. The men were accused of links to the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration. They are originally from Jindires, Sharran, and Khirbat Sharran.
#المرصد_السوري بحجة التعامل مع " #الإدارة_الذاتية".. القوة المشتركة تـ ـخـ ـتـ ـطـ ـف 3 مواطنين كرد في ريف #حلب https://t.co/zP2kFR8GaS
— المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان (@syriahr) June 11, 2025
In a separate case, the same faction kidnapped a fourth Kurdish man from the village of Ali Baku in northern Aleppo. He had returned from Iraq to visit family when he was seized near Deir Hafer. His fate remains unknown.
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