Latest news with #Alawite-populated
Leaders
2 days ago
- Politics
- Leaders
Syria Coastal Violence Likely Involved War Crimes: UN
A recent UN report has accused Syria's interim government forces and Assad loyalists of likely committing war crimes during March's sectarian violence, which killed around 1,400 people, mainly civilians. The UN Syria Commission of Inquiry found no evidence that Damascus authorities ordered the attacks. However, it documented revenge killings, torture, abductions, and inhumane acts across Alawite-populated areas in Latakia, Tartus, Homs, and Hama. Systematic Targeting of Civilians Coastal violence in the Alawite heartland exposed divisions after Islamist-led rebels ousted ex-President Bashar al-Assad in December, beginning when former regime loyalists ambushed security forces, sparking clashes between largely Sunni government forces and mostly Alawite Assad loyalists. Authorities sent reinforcements, joined by thousands of fighters, turning the operation into sectarian revenge killings. After decades of Assad brutality in mainly Sunni Syria, many associate Alawites, 10% of the population, with the old regime. Furthermore, the commission urged the government to expand accountability efforts. 'The scale and brutality of the violence documented in our report is deeply disturbing,' said Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, chair of the UN Syria Commission of Inquiry. He called on interim authorities to pursue accountability for all perpetrators, regardless of affiliation or rank. While dozens of alleged perpetrators have been arrested, the violence's scale warrants expanding these efforts. The report warned of continuing retaliatory attacks amidst heightened fear, urging the interim government to address them urgently. It documented gross human rights violations in 16 Alawite-populated locations across Latakia, Tartus, Homs, and Hama governorates in early March. Sectarian Violence and Its Aftermath Perpetrators went door-to-door, asking if civilians were Alawite before taking men and boys away to execute. Most victims were Alawite men aged 20-50, but women and children as young as one were also killed in house raids. Armed individuals filmed themselves committing serious human rights violations, including severe beatings, executions, and walking alongside dead bodies. Fearful of reprisal, families kept their loved ones' bodies at home for days or left them in streets for later mass burials, with hospitals overwhelmed as corpses piled up. Thousands fled to neighboring Lebanon or a Russian airbase for safety, with the report stating that many survivors and Alawites have since relocated within Syria or sought refuge abroad. The report concluded that consistent patterns of targeted violence against civilians indicate these acts were not random or isolated. The commission conducted over 200 interviews with witnesses and victims and accessed coastal areas and affected communities. After 14 years of civil war and documented human rights abuses, rebels overthrew Assad in December, forming an interim government, led by former rebel Ahmed al-Sharaa. The report identified the post-Assad security vacuum and online disinformation and hate speech about Alawites as contributors to retributive attacks. As clashes escalated between former and pro-government factions, foreign fighters joined government forces mobilized to coastal regions. Government Response and Recommendations The government instructed civilians not to take up arms and warned fighters against harming civilians, establishing curfews. In Tartus, checkpoints prevented fighters from entering, sparing the city from violence seen elsewhere. Additionally, a July government inquiry identified 298 alleged perpetrators within military factions and 265 linked to former government fighters. In June, officials reported 42 arrests for alleged abuses and established a complaints office for security and police misconduct cases. The commission recommended strengthening the court system to ensure justice, providing reparations for survivors, and building community trust, among other measures. Sectarian violence has continued elsewhere in Syria since March, as hundreds died in Suweida clashes last month. Bedouin and Druze fighters and the Syrian army face accusations of killing civilians and extrajudicial killings. The government acknowledged reports of 'shocking violations' by individuals in military fatigues and told the BBC it would fully investigate all atrocity allegations. Short link : Post Views: 102
Shafaq News
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Syrian official committee reports over 1,400 killed in March coastal violence
Shafaq News - Damascus On Tuesday, a Syrian investigative committee released its report on the March violence in the coastal region, attributing the delay in publication to concurrent events in the southern city of Suwayda. The committee, formed by the Syrian transitional government, documented 930 testimonies related to the coastal incidents and confirmed the deaths of 1,426 individuals, including civilians and former military personnel. According to the report, 238 members of the public security forces and army were killed by what the committee described as 'remnants of the regime.' The committee also stated that these groups had attempted to seize areas along the coast with the aim of establishing a separatist enclave. The investigation identified 265 individuals as suspected members of these regime-affiliated groups and confirmed that 298 people were found to have committed documented violations. The committee cited testimonies from families of some victims, who said the regime remnants used their areas to launch attacks against security forces. Although the reported violations were widespread, the committee noted they were uncoordinated. It said that 200,000 armed men had moved into the coastal region to reclaim it, and investigations into various abuses and misconduct followed. The report also pointed to cases where individuals impersonated military or security personnel for personal gain. Some of those implicated in violations had formed gangs engaged in looting and theft. The committee clarified that sectarian motives during the events were rooted in revenge rather than ideology, and some fighters had defied military orders by committing violations. Concluding that the state had made significant efforts to halt the abuses and arrest those involved, the committee acknowledged that state control during the events was only partial. The Syrian presidency had established the investigative committee on March 9, pledging to release its findings within a month. The announcement was delayed by an additional three months, with the results now published just ahead of the extended July 10 deadline. Several human rights organizations have reported findings that differ from the official account. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights alleged that public security forces and allied groups carried out massacres and summary executions, resulting in the deaths of around 1,700 civilians, most of whom belonged to the Alawite minority. A previous Reuters investigation revealed details of what it described as massacres committed by Sunni fighters in Alawite-populated areas between March 7 and 9. The report identified a chain of command behind the killings, linking them to individuals operating alongside the new authorities in Damascus. Reuters concluded that approximately 1,500 Alawite Syrians were killed, and dozens remain missing. It documented 40 different locations where retaliatory killings, attacks, and looting targeted Alawite communities.
Shafaq News
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Probe links members of new Syrian government to Alawite massacres
Shafaq News – Damascus Sunni fighters aligned with Syria's new government in Damascus carried out mass killings in Alawite-populated areas along the Mediterranean coast, a Reuters investigation revealed on Monday. The report identified the March 7–9 attacks, which left nearly 1,500 dead and dozens unaccounted for, documenting retaliatory assaults—including killings, beatings, and looting—across more than 40 locations targeting the Alawite community, long associated with the al-Assad regime. Findings indicated that at least ten armed factions were involved in the offensive, including foreign fighters now operating under the authority of the new government. Nearly half of these groups have been under international sanctions for years over documented human rights violations, including executions, abductions, and acts of sexual violence. The revelations surfaced as the administration of US President Donald Trump gradually eases sanctions imposed during the al-Assad era. The shift has raised concerns in Washington, particularly given that Syria's new government is led by an Islamist faction formerly known as Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham. Previously operating as Jabhat al-Nusra, an Al-Qaeda affiliate, the group was dissolved following al-Assad's fall. However, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which was led by current transitional Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, has been under United Nations sanctions since 2014. Al-Sharaa, a Sunni Muslim like the majority of Syrians, assumed office in January after leading a rapid military campaign that toppled
The National
07-03-2025
- Politics
- The National
More than 70 dead in Syria clashes between HTS forces and pro-Assad militias
More than 70 people have been killed in clashes between security forces for Syria's new government and militias loyal to toppled president Bashar Al Assad, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said on Friday, as violence escalates in the country's coastal region. The fighting saw at least 13 members of Syria's newly formed security forces killed on Thursday in an ambush by militants linked to Mr Al Assad in the area of Jableh, in Latakia province, the government-aligned television network Syria TV reported. That attack was one of the deadliest clashes since rebels led by the Hayat Tahrir Al Sham group took control of Syria and formed the new administration. Tension continues to rise in the Latakia region, the heartland of Mr Al Assad's Alawite sect. Elsewhere in the country, demonstrators turned out in Damascus, Hama, Homs and Idlib in support of the operations by the new security forces to secure Jableh, state news agency Sana reported. Authorities imposed overnight curfews on Alawite-populated areas, including Latakia, the port city of Tartus and third city Homs, Sana said. "More than 70 killed and dozens wounded and captured in bloody clashes and ambushes on the Syrian coast between members of the Ministry of Defence and Interior and militants from the defunct regime's army," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a post on X. It said the fighting in Jableh and adjacent villages had killed 48 people in "the most violent attacks against the new authorities since Assad was toppled" in December. The observatory said pro-Assad fighters killed 16 security personnel, while 28 fighters aligned with the ousted president were also killed, along with four civilians. The monitor said most of the security personnel killed were from the former rebel stronghold of Idlib in the north-west. Amid the violence, security forces also captured and arrested a former general intelligence chief, Ibrahim Huweija, who is accused of organising several assassinations during the rule of Hafez Al Assad, Bashar's father and predecessor, including the killing of Lebanese Druze leader Kamal Jumblatt. "Our forces in the city of Jableh managed to arrest the criminal General Ibrahim Huweija," Syrian state news agency Sana reported. "He is accused of hundreds of assassinations during the era of the criminal Hafez Al Assad." Mr Al Huweija, who headed air force intelligence from 1987 to 2002, has long been a suspect in the 1977 murder of Jumblatt. Elsewhere in Latakia, security forces clashed with gunmen loyal to an Assad-era special forces commander after authorities reportedly launched helicopter strikes in the village of Beit Ana, the provincial security director said. "The armed groups that our security forces were clashing with in the Latakia countryside were affiliated with the war criminal Suhail Al Hassan," the security director told Sana. Nicknamed "The Tiger", Mr Al Hassan formerly led Syria's special forces and was frequently described as Mr Al Assad's "favourite soldier". He was responsible for key military advances by the Assad government in 2015. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported "strikes launched by Syrian helicopters on armed men in the village of Beit Ana and the surrounding forests, coinciding with artillery strikes on a neighbouring village". Sana said pro-Assad militias had opened fire on "members and equipment of the defence ministry" near the village, killing one security force member and wounding two. A defence ministry source later told Sana that large military reinforcements were being deployed to the Jableh area. Fadel Abdul Ghany, executive director of the Syrian Network for Human Rights, said the attacks by pro-Assad elements signalled "a level of planning and organisation that extends beyond isolated or sporadic incidents". "The operational tactics employed, including multi-axis coordination and strategic withdrawal into mountainous terrain post-engagement, reflect elements of well-executed guerrilla warfare," he wrote on X. Islamist rebels led by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham took control of Syria in December in a lightning offensive that toppled Mr Al Assad. The country's new security forces have since carried out extensive campaigns seeking to root out Assad loyalists from his former bastions. Residents and organisations have reported violations during those campaigns, including the seizing of homes, field executions and kidnappings. Syria's new authorities have described the violations as "isolated incidents" and vowed to pursue those responsible.
