'Minutes to leave': Alawites purged from Damascus neighborhoods
4 Min Read
Armed GSS agents have forced hundreds of Alawite families out of their homes in Damascus, raising fears of sectarian violence and systemic property seizures.
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Syrian Alawite families cross a river marking the border between Syria and northern Lebanon in Heker al-Daher village in Akkar province, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP)
In late January, twelve masked men stormed the Damascus home of Um Hassan’s family, pointed AK-47s at them, and ordered them to leave. When the family presented documents proving ownership, the militants arrested Um Hassan’s oldest brother and said they could only have him back once they had moved out.
The family surrendered the home within 24 hours. When they picked him up from the General Security Service (GSS) headquarters, he was "battered and bruised."
Um Hassan's experience is part of a broader pattern. Since Ahmad al-Sharaa seized power in Syria last December, hundreds of Alawite families have reportedly been expelled from their privately owned homes in Damascus, according to accounts gathered by Reuters from Syrian officials, human rights groups, members of the Alawite community, and affected residents.
Alawite families face forced expulsions by GSS agents
Bassam Alahmad, executive director of Syrians for Truth and Justice (STJ), said, "We're definitely not talking about independent incidents. We are talking about hundreds, if not thousands, of cases of evictions." The mass removal of Alawites from privately owned properties has not been previously reported.
In March, hundreds of Alawites were reportedly killed in the western coastal region, and violence soon reached Damascus. Two government officials confirmed to Reuters that thousands have been expelled, mostly Alawites, from Damascus since al-Assad’s ousting.
Officials confirm pattern of sectarian property confiscations
One Damascus countryside directorate official said they had received "hundreds of complaints from people who had been violently evicted." An Alawite mayor in a Damascus suburb, who requested anonymity, told Reuters that “250 families out of 2,000” had been forced out. He also shared a phone recording with a man claiming to be from the GSS who instructed him to find housing for a northern family.
When the mayor said there were no rentals, the official replied, "Empty one of those houses that belong to one of those pigs."
The GSS, largely composed of militants who overthrew al-Assad, has reportedly established two property committees, one to handle seizures and another to address complaints. These bodies were modeled on a "War Spoils Committee" that had operated in Idlib, according to three GSS officials.
STJ filed a formal complaint with the Damascus Suburbs Directorate on April 16, calling for an end to “sectarian-motivated” violations and the return of seized properties.
Displaced Alawites speak out on threats, injustice
On January 16, two armed, masked men approached civil servant Um Hussein’s house and identified themselves as GSS. Because her son is in a wheelchair, they gave her 24 hours. Despite her appeals, they returned the next morning and gave her two minutes to leave.
Um Hussein said the men seized her shop as well.
"We have been living in this house for more than 22 years. All our money and savings have been invested in it. We cannot afford to rent elsewhere."
On February 12, the Damascus governor invited citizens to file complaints over unjust seizures. An official confirmed to Reuters that expulsions had often occurred “without a court order” and that residents were "prevented from taking their belongings—and then [the perpetrators] moved in."
"It's chaotic, but there is a method to the madness, which is to terrify people...," said Syria expert Joshua Landis. "There is no transitional justice. There's only transitional injustice."
Rafaa Mahmoud, an Alawite woman, described a similar ordeal. On February 20, seven armed men came to her apartment and threatened to kill her family unless they surrendered their home.
She shared a 2-minute, 27-second video with Reuters showing her arguing with them behind her door. The men called her family “infidels and pigs.”
When she asked for a court order, they replied, "We only do things verbally here."
Read more: Pro-government groups committed war crimes in Syrian coast: Amnesty
