1,018 killed in ongoing massacres against minorities in Syria's coast

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen + Agencies
9 Mar 2025 00:25
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The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says security forces and allied groups killed 745 Alawite civilians over the past three days, revising upwards a previous toll.

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This handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syrian forces deploying in the western city of Baniyas in the coastal Tartous province on March 7, 2025 (SANA/AFP)

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the recent deaths of civilians from the minority Alawite community have raised the total death toll from violence since Thursday to 1,018.

This includes 125 security personnel and 148 fighters reportedly affiliated with the regime of ousted President Bashar al-Assad, the monitor noted.

The Observatory said security forces and allied groups killed 745 Alawite civilians over the past three days, revising upward a previous toll.

But Fox News cited an Alawite, who requested to remain anonymous and resides in Europe while maintaining regular contact with her community in Syria, as saying that more than 4,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the coastal region and among the Alawite population.

The Alawites are a religious minority to which the toppled al-Assad happens to belong.

The Islamist group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which led the offensive that toppled al-Assad in December, has vowed to protect Syria's religious and ethnic minorities.

The Observatory, which relies on a network of sources in Syria, has reported multiple massacres in recent days, with women and children among the killed.

"The vast majority of the victims were summarily executed by elements affiliated to the ministry of defence and the interior," the monitor pointed out on Friday.

Local sources from the Syrian coast confirmed to Al Mayadeen that the death toll from the massacres is in the hundreds, while dozens of bodies remain scattered along the sides of roads and in the streets of villages, with their families unable to bury them or even access them.

The sources also reported that residents of these areas fled to the mountains and forests out of fear of being killed and have not dared to return to their homes.

Meanwhile, the UN Resident Coordinator in Syria, Adam Abdelmoula, and the Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syrian crisis, Ramanathan Balakrishnan, issued a joint statement saying that they are "following closely the disturbing developments in coastal and central areas in Syria."

"Since Thursday, escalating hostilities in Tartous, Lattakia, Homs, and Hama Governorates, have resulted in civilian deaths and injuries, displacement, damage to civilian infrastructure, while access to affected areas remains heavily restricted," they said.

The statement urged "all parties to immediately cease hostilities and spare civilians, civilian infrastructure, and aid operations, in accordance with International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law, ensuring the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure and allowing for the immediate, safe, and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance to those in need."

Additionally, local sources reported that Syrian General Security prevented foreign groups from entering the town of Demsarkho, on the outskirts of Latakia, and forced them to withdraw to their location at the Officers' Club on the Blue Beach Road.

Earlier, local sources from the Syrian coast had confirmed to Al Mayadeen that several massacres had taken place since the morning of Saturday in various villages and towns in the countryside of Latakia, Tartus, and Hama, resulting in the martyrdom of more than 145 people.

Some of these massacres occurred in the village of al-Sanoubar, in the Jableh district, the village of Bustan al-Basha in the Jableh countryside, the village of Harisoun in the Baniyas countryside in Tartus province, and the towns of al-Qabou and Ain al-Arous in the countryside of Latakia, as well as the villages of al-Arza and al-Twaym in Hama countryside.