Notorious war criminals led bloody attacks on Syria's coast
As the bloodiest days since the new authorities took power in Damascus unfolded earlier this month, blame was quickly cast in multiple directions.
Reports, however, soon surfaced revealing that key figures within deposed President Bashar al-Assad’s war machine were behind the coordinated assault that sparked the ensuing violence.
In a coordinated assault on Syria's western coast, attackers belonging to the Alawi sect targeted hospitals, security and police checkpoints, killing around 172 government security forces. They fortified roads, opened fire on vehicles with out-of-region plates, and killed over 200 civilians, according to the French-based Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR).
As a result, anger among armed factions in other parts of the country escalated, prompting fighters from former rebel groups, overwhelmingly Sunni, to raid the area seeking revenge and killing around 400 people, including civilians from Assad’s Alawi sect, according to SNHR.
"In a number of extremely disturbing instances, entire families, including women, children and individuals were killed," the United Nations said.
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A few days later, the Syrian government announced the end of its operation after thwarting a plot to seize the coastal region by armed individuals linked to Assad.
A Syrian Army fighter told Middle East Eye that the operation was "extremely challenging" as many Assad loyalists remained active as sleeper cells.
"They disguise themselves as civilians, stay in their homes, and then move in groups to rural areas where they have hidden weapons to launch attacks," he said.
"Things are improving, but the situation remains volatile, with some indiscriminate attacks still occurring."
War criminals
Alawis, who make up about 10 percent of Syria’s population, were the backbone of the Assad government, leading the army, police, security forces, and key government positions, including sectarian militias.
The Assad government killed approximately 200,000 civilians through bombings and massacres over 14 years of war and tortured around 15,000 detainees to death, according to SNHR.
After his group, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, toppled Assad, interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa vowed justice for the victims and accountability for war crimes. However, many extremist Alawi leaders and fighters refused to surrender.
Their leader, Mikdad Fatiha, released videos in recent weeks threatening the new government. He later announced the formation of the "Coastal Shield Brigade", the group that seized 90 percent of the coast in the recent attack.
Boasting about his crimes and urging Alawis to keep their weapons and continue fighting, he said in one of his videos, "I have seen more human viscera and internal organs than surgeons."
Most of his videos, where he claimed responsibility for attacks, appeared to be filmed in rural coastal areas.
Mercenary officers
Although a statement circulated on social media, allegedly signed by former Brigadier General Ghaith Dala, claimed the formation of a military council to lead attacks against the new government, Dala himself has not claimed responsibility.
Dala was the right-hand man of Assad’s brother, Maher, who led the well-financed and Iranian-backed Fourth Division. He was based at Hama Airport and commanded the 42nd Tank Brigade, launching large-scale offensives against rebels.
Before forming the Ghaith Forces, a unit of approximately 500 mercenaries, Dala played a key role in storming, massacring and arresting thousands of civilians in Darayya, al-Moadamiyah, Eastern Ghouta, and Daraa. His forces besieged towns, forcing residents to survive on tree leaves.
Suhayl al-Hasan, a Russian-backed major general in the former Syrian Army, is also believed to be involved in the latest riots. Hasan, 55, was an officer in Air Security and has been sanctioned by the West for human rights violations.
As the leader of the notorious Tiger Forces group, he pioneered the use of barrel bombs - explosive devices dropped from helicopters, causing massive destruction and indiscriminate civilian deaths.
Official media used to portrayed him as an "undefeated warrior", making him a key figure in Assad’s military campaigns.
Widespread violations
The new General Security forces announced the arrest of Ibrahim Huweija, the former head of Syria’s General Security forces under Assad. Known as the "assassination engineer", he was accused of orchestrating hundreds of killings, including the assassinations of top Lebanese officials.
Local media linked Huweija to the recent attacks, though Middle East Eye could not verify the claims.
As a presidential order to establish an independent committee to investigate the recent massacres, security forces also reported the arrest of several individuals seen celebrating the killings of civilians in coastal areas.
"Barbaric forces entered the region and committed massacres under the pretext of pursuing remnants of the old regime," coastal-based activist Nagham Selman, told MEE.
"The responsibility lies with the state.
"Practices such as excluding segments of society, failing to build constructive dialogue… and dismissing employees are among the main drivers of anger in the area."
Fadel Abdul Ghany, executive director of SNHR, told MEE that the core of the issue was the systematic targeting of security forces, which has led to widespread anger.
Alawi civilians meanwhile said they had continued to face varying levels of sectarian violence leading up to the latest escalation, despite promises from Sharaa to create a system that includes Syria’s mosaic of religious and ethnic groups.
"The killings were motivated by religious divisions. Many targeted Sunni communities, just as campaigns targeted Alawis," he said.
SNHR reported that at least 803 extrajudicial killings were committed over a few days by all sides involved in the clashes, including Assad loyalists, government forces, groups loosely affiliated with the Syrian government and individual gunmen.
Ghany stressed that SNHR follows strict documentation protocols, requiring names, photos, and verification from relatives.
"Even if the process takes longer, we prioritise accuracy above all else," he said.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitor, 1,805 civilians have been extrajudicially executed in the period since 1 March for "belonging to the former Assad regime and under retaliatory actions based on sectarian affiliation".
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