One month on, killings persist in Syria’s Alawi heartlands
In the weeks following the worst sectarian violence since the fall of Bashar al-Assad - unrest the government has said it is trying to contain - locals of Syria's northwestern coast continue to report killings, abductions, and raids targeting the Alawi community.
What began as an attack on government security forces by Assad loyalists - many from the former president’s Alawi sect - on 6 March had quickly spiralled into revenge attacks on civilians.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights said 1,334 civilians, mostly Alawis, lost their lives in the violence in March, including 889 killed by armed forces involved in the security crackdowns in the region. At least 446 people were killed by non-state armed groups linked to Assad, the report added.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has reported that more than 1,700 civilians have been killed by security forces, the majority of them from the Alawi community.
Days later, authorities said they had regained control of the situation and have vowed accountability and safety measures, but residents say the calm never came.
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Speaking to Middle East Eye, 20 eyewitnesses and relatives of victims confirmed that military raids are also still ongoing, often under the pretext of searching for looters or Assad loyalists. All witness accounts were given to MEE on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
Residents and local observers said the violence appears to be both random and systematic, carried out by armed factions with minimal interference from state authorities.
In Sqoubin, a village in Latakia’s countryside, the son of a prominent Alawi cleric was gunned down while returning from work on 5 April. He was riding a motorcycle with two relatives when their path was reportedly blocked by armed men.
Middle East Eye has approached the Latakia governor's office for comment.
The following day, in al-Mawrid village near Baniyas, assailants launched an attack from a neighbouring village. A young man was shot, and a disabled child was beaten. Both remain in critical condition. Despite pleas for help, residents said General Security forces failed to intervene.
On 3 April, three young men from Tartous went missing while travelling out of town. That same week, two other young men were abducted in the Safita countryside and later found dead near a farm in Tallet al-Khodr.
Witnesses said the pair had been forced into a black Honda Accord by armed men in civilian clothing who claimed to be from General Security.
'It depends on their mood'
Residents describe a pattern of state-linked violence and non-state militia raids merging into one another. In al-Mahfoura, Homs, unidentified gunmen on motorcycles entered the village, fired several shots into the air, and then assassinated a local water well guard with six bullets.
The attackers exited through roads flanked by government checkpoints, raising questions about how they moved undetected.
Meanwhile, in Wadi al-Dahab, Homs, a 19-year-old barber trainee was gunned down outside his barbershop on 7 April. The attackers escaped before General Security arrived, though the incident prompted a significant security presence.
A day later, three men, including two brothers, were shot by security forces around 3pm in the al-Azhari square in Latakia, according to witnesses. The men were on foot when General Security officers asked if they were Alawis before shooting them in the head.
The incident triggered panic, with a bus driver abandoning his vehicle and passengers fleeing on foot.
Lines between state-backed forces, rebel factions, and opportunistic militias have increasingly blurred, fuelling a pervasive sense of lawlessness.
“Each time a new group comes,” said one man from Jableh. “Some shout religious slogans, some don’t speak. You never know what you’re dealing with.”
Religious profiling has also become routine at checkpoints dotting the coastal mountain roads.
Travellers are reportedly interrogated about their sect, and those who identify as Alawi often face beatings, insults, or detention. “It depends on the mood of the guy at the checkpoint,” a local resident said.
'Everything is good, don't worry'
In the village of al-Sanobar, located between Latakia city and Jableh, six masked gunmen stormed two neighbouring homes on 6 April, leaving one woman hospitalised and several families displaced.
The assailants, dressed in matching uniforms, entered the area in the afternoon and initially reassured locals.
“They said everything is good, don’t worry,” one resident told MEE about the fighters who had raided their house. “But then they started asking for gold, money, phones.”
'Each time a new group comes. Some shout religious slogans, some don’t speak. You never know what you’re dealing with'
- Resident, Jableh
One of the targeted houses belonged to a school principal in her mid-40s. Witnesses said she was struck in the head and had her golden earrings torn off. “She was still bleeding before fleeing to another village,” an eyewitness said.
In the neighbouring home, a physics teacher managed to flee through the back gate into the garden. His wife and adult children stayed behind as the attackers looted everything they could find, including old Syrian lira coins, mobile phones, and laptops.
Residents say these were not isolated incidents. Many have already fled the village, and those who remain live in fear.
“Only five houses are still occupied,” said another local. “People have left after seeing what happened.”
Even civilians trying to restore a sense of normalcy have come under attack.
On the morning of 7 April, a group of teachers attempting to reopen the local school in al-Sanobar were met with gunfire. “Four unidentified people on two motorbikes fired into the air,” said a witness. “They saw the teachers returning and wanted to scare them away.”
The incident was not investigated by the General Security, which arrived later that evening to arrest 25 people while searching for a family allegedly involved in a December attack on its troops. All the men were released after one night.
The school remains closed, as do the citrus groves that once sustained the village.
The psychological toll on children has also been severe.
“My children don’t talk about it,” one parent said. “But they wake up crying. One of them screams in her sleep.”
'We're on our own'
The recent raids near al-Sanobar followed a now familiar pattern seen across Latakia, Tartous, Baniyas, and parts of Homs, where armed men arrive in vehicles nearly identical to official military convoys and pass through checkpoints without resistance.
Although the mass killings of early March have tapered off, smaller-scale attacks are becoming more frequent.
In recent days, multiple Alawi civilians have been found dead across the coastal region, many bearing signs of execution-style killings. On Monday, the Observatory said 12 civilians, mostly Alawis, were killed in incidents of apparent sectarian violence.
'The killings haven’t stopped. They’ve simply become more calculated'
- Resident, al-Sanobar
“The killings haven’t stopped” one resident in al-Sanobar said. “They’ve simply become more calculated.”
In one of the latest incidents, the body of a young man kidnapped days earlier in Homs was found dumped near the rocky corniche in Tartous, shot in the head, locals said.
On the same day, two other men were discovered dead in separate locations in Tartous and Latakia, residents said, heightening fears that targeted abductions and executions are becoming routine in Syria’s coastal provinces.
Attempts by Alawi community leaders to form a local council have repeatedly faltered amid fear and fragmentation.
The response by the state has been largely absent. Calls to local police stations have gone unanswered or redirected. “They told us, ‘It’s another group. We can’t help,’” said one woman in Latakia, reflecting a broader sense of abandonment amongst residents.
While many Alawis remained loyal to President Bashar al-Assad throughout the civil war, frustration had grown in recent years within Alawi-dominated areas.
By 2023, public criticism of the Assad government intensified, with many citing corruption, economic collapse, and a lack of civil liberties.
Despite the recent violence, the government has moved ahead with formal reconciliation efforts.
On 8 April, authorities announced that the demobilisation centre in Latakia had resumed operations after a temporary pause due to attacks in the region.
Officials reported that approximately 27,000 former government soldiers had completed settlement procedures.
Yet as violence persists in provinces once considered stable, the prospect of meaningful stabilisation seems increasingly distant. With each passing week, trust in both state and non-state actors continues to erode.
“No one is protecting us,” said a resident displaced from Al-Sanobar. “We’re on our own.”
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