Who was behind mass killings on Syria's coast?
For several days, Syria's Mediterranean coast has been gripped by extreme violence that has seen mass killings mainly targeting members of the Alawite minority.
Authorities have not provided a toll, but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor put the number of dead at 1,225 civilians, mostly Alawites. Human Rights Watch said "hundreds" were killed.
Since former president Bashar al-Assad was toppled in December, many Alawites -- his sect -- have feared reprisals for his brutal rule.
Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who led the Sunni Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) that toppled Assad, has vowed to prosecute those behind the "bloodshed of civilians" and set up a fact-finding committee.
- What happened? -
Survivors, witnesses and rights groups described a wave of violence since last Thursday targeting Alawite civilians in their coastal heartland.
"In a number of extremely disturbing instances, entire families -- including women, children and individuals 'hors de combat' (non-combatants) -- were killed, with predominantly Alawite cities and villages targeted in particular," UN human rights office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan said Tuesday.
"According to many testimonies collected by our office, perpetrators raided houses, asking residents whether they were Alawite or Sunni before proceeding to either kill or spare them accordingly.
"Some survivors told us that many men were shot dead in front of their families," he added.
A witness who requested anonymity told AFP he had seen a man, his wife and their two children being forced from their home in an Alawite village in Latakia province and executed against a wall.
In Jableh, also in Latakia, a resident said armed groups had terrorised his town.
"More than 50 people from among my family and friends have been killed," he said, speaking anonymously for his safety. "They gathered bodies with bulldozers and buried them in mass graves."
The Observatory and social media users shared footage showing bodies piled outside a house, and men in military garb shooting people at close range.
AFP could not verify the images.
- Who was involved? -
No group can be singled out as having been behind the killings.
"Unidentified armed groups and individuals -- many entering Tartus and Latakia governorates from other parts of Syria following official calls for general mobilization -- joined these operations," said Human Rights Watch.
Fighters came from Idlib in the northwest, HTS's stronghold before it seized power, but also from areas further east controlled by Turkey-backed groups.
HTS, an offshoot of the former Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda, and forces allied to it have been disbanded and integrated into the new security forces.
Syria researcher Cedric Labrousse said at least three armed factions were involved.
Thousands of fighters from those groups flooded into the region, he said, many of them following calls for mobilization.
These are namely Syrian groups that reject the new authorities in Damascus, "warlords who have rallied their troops behind the new Syrian army" that notably include pro-Turkey factions, and finally "groups of foreign jihadists".
He noted that these foreign jihadists, including "Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, and Chechens... were expelled from the region in early January 2025 by the new authorities in order to calm the situation on the coast".
Human Rights Watch said that "accountability for atrocities must include all parties", including groups such as the HTS that "now constitute Syria's new security forces".
- Why now? -
In the aftermath of Assad's ouster, tensions had simmered on the coast, with repeated attacks targeting the new government's forces, as well as reports of atrocities targeting Alawites.
But on Thursday, the authorities said they faced coordinated attacks targeting their forces and government buildings, as well as hospitals.
At least 231 security personnel were killed in ensuing clashes, according to their official toll, while the Observatory said 250 pro-Assad fighters were killed.
These attacks came shortly after an Assad-era general, Ghiath Dalla, announced on social media the formation of a "military council for the liberation of Syria".
He was a former officer in the much-feared Fourth Brigade, which was commanded by the deposed president's brother, Maher al-Assad, according to a source from the brigade.
The Alawites, estimated at 1.7 million, or around nine percent of the population, are an offshoot of Shiite Islam, and are considered heretics by Sunni jihadist groups.
During the 13-year civil war, they were overrepresented in the army and paramilitary forces and were accused of involvement in mass atrocities against dissidents.
Source: Agence France Presse
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