The United Nations (UN) has reported that entire families, including women and children, have been killed in the latest wave of violence in Syria’s coastal region. Since last Thursday, the UN has verified the deaths of 111 civilians, though the actual toll is believed to be significantly higher.
Many of the victims were executed in a manner that suggests sectarian targeting, with Alawite-majority areas being particularly affected, BBCreported.
Gunmen, believed to support the Salafi-led government, are accused of carrying out these retaliatory killings against the supporters of President Bashar al-Assad. The violence has led to over 1,200 civilian deaths in the provinces of Latakia, Tartous, Hama, and Homs, many of them Alawites.
Syria’s Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa had urged insurgents from ousted president Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite minority to lay down their arms or face the consequences after the fiercest attacks on the war-torn country’s new rulers yet. The threat came as Syria’s security forces “executed” 162 Alawites on Friday, according to a Syrian war monitor, in a massive operation in the ethnic group’s Mediterranean heartland triggered by deadly clashes with gunmen loyal to al-Assad the day before. “You attacked all Syrians and made an unforgivable mistake. The riposte has come, and you have not been able to withstand it,” al-Sharaa warned in a speech broadcast on Telegram by the Syrian presidency. “Lay down your weapons and surrender before it’s too late.”
The coastal region is considered the heartland of the Alawite sect, to which Assad and many of his military and political elites belong.
The UN’s Thameen Al-Kheetan confirmed that these killings targeted both combatants and civilians, with entire families massacred. Many survivors reported that gunmen asked whether they were Alawite or Sunni before deciding who to kill. Hospitals in Latakia, Tartous, and Baniyas have been raided, and casualties have mounted from clashes between security forces and insurgents.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the civilian death toll has risen to 1,225, with additional fatalities occurring in Baniyas. Alongside these civilian deaths, approximately 230 security personnel and 250 civilians have also been killed.
The UN’s human rights chief has urged for swift and impartial investigations into these crimes, stressing that all perpetrators, regardless of affiliation, must be held accountable. Syria’s investigative committee, established by the government, is currently reviewing evidence and will release its findings within 30 days. The government has already arrested four individuals linked to the killings in a coastal village, identified in videos shared online.
Despite a reduction in violence on Tuesday, many residents remain fearful, with many still in hiding or seeking refuge in rural areas or at the Russian-controlled Hmeimim airbase near Latakia. Some have fled to neighboring Lebanon, recounting horrific experiences of violence, including the killing of young Alawite men by gunmen who targeted them solely due to their sectarian identity. These survivors express deep mistrust of both the government and security forces, fearing continued violence and retribution.
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