Chaos sweeps coastal Syria, many flee in fear: NYT

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: The New York Times
10 Mar 2025 12:50
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A New York Times report reveals over 1,000 deaths in recent violence on Syria's coast, mostly at the hands of government forces, prompting widespread fear and mass civilian evacuations.

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A convoy of government security forces departing Idlib, Syria, on Saturday and heading toward areas on the coast to confront Alawite minority groups. (AFP)

A report by the New York Times on Monday shed light on the recent mass killings happening on the coast of Syria.

The violence broke out on Thursday after fierce clashes erupted between government security forces and fighters aligned with ousted President Bashar al-Assad's regime, a war monitor reported on Friday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights described the confrontations as some of the deadliest since al-Assad’s fall in December

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Sunday that over 1,000 people, including about 700 civilians, have died, most at the hands of government forces.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights also claimed government forces killed around 125 civilians.

Despite these accusations, the new government denied its forces committed atrocities but promised to investigate and hold wrongdoers accountable.

The violence has sparked fears of a larger sectarian conflict, particularly in the Alawite-majority coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus. The Syrian Observatory said on Saturday that at least 60 civilians, including five children, were killed in the violence in Baniyas.

Civilians flee mass killings

"I’m shocked, I’m just shocked," said Moustafa, a pharmacist. By Saturday evening, all he could think about was leaving. "We have to get out of here as soon as possible," he added. "It’s not safe, not at all safe."

According to the report, Moustafa was among many who fled Baniyas on Saturday, seeking refuge with non-Alawite friends in hopes of avoiding further violence in their neighborhoods.

Wala from al-Haffa

The report included a chilling account from Wala, a 29-year-old resident, who described instinctively jumping off her bed and flattening herself in the corner of her room as gunfire rang out outside her window.

As the sounds grew louder, she cautiously approached the window, pulling back the curtain to see dozens of people fleeing, many still in their pajamas, pursued by four men in forest green uniforms.

The men opened fire, and within moments, four of the fleeing individuals collapsed to the ground. "I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I was terrified, terrified," said Wala, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation.

The violence in al-Haffa was part of broader unrest along Syria’s coast, which has claimed over 1,000 lives over the past four days, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Wala was hiding with family and friends in her apartment when security forces barged in about an hour after the government entered her town. A friend from Idlib, the rebel stronghold, begged the men not to harm them. "She said, ‘I am from Idlib. All my family is from Idlib. Please don’t do anything to these people. They are a peaceful family,’" Wala recalled in a phone interview.

According to the report, the men demanded her friend's phone and forced Wala to open her safe, threatening her in the process. They also ordered her mother to hand over her gold necklace and earrings. Before leaving, the men warned them to stay inside. Terrified, Wala and her family quickly retreated to their bedroom.

About an hour later, as the gunfire subsided, they ignored the warning and ventured outside to help someone they could hear calling for help from the street.

Outside, Wala discovered two men who had been shot. One, bleeding heavily, weakly asked her to lift his head, while the other, shot in the thigh, begged for water. Gunfire erupted once more, and Wala hurried back inside. By evening, she still didn’t know if either man had survived.