Primitive Tribal, Sectarian Slaughter in Syria

"This was one of the biggest massacres during the Syrian conflict [killings of Alawite civilians]."

"They killed every man they encountered."

Rami Abdurrahman, chief, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights

 

"After they killed the father and his boys, they asked the mother to take her gold off, or they would kill her."

"There’s no water and no power for more than 24 hours, the factions are killing anyone who appears in front of them, the corpses are piled up in the streets. This is collective punishment."

Latakia resident

 

"[France condemned what they said was violence targeting] civilians because of their faith."

"[The French foreign ministry also urged Syria’s authorities to make sure that] independent investigations can shed light on these crimes and that the perpetrators are sentenced."

French statement 

 

"...The indiscriminate firing on everyone including paramedics, was like something from the previous Assad regime."

"They did not have any mercy, so we are against any violence against anyone in the Syrian coast who has not been involved in this unrest."

"All of them are civilians and they are all like our family."

Sunni civilian witness

 

"Thousands have chosen to surrender their weapons and return to their families, while some [Assad loyalists] insist on fleeing and dying in defence of murderers and criminals."

"The choice is clear: lay down your weapons or face your inevitable fate." 

Colonel Hassan Abdul Ghani, Syria defence ministry

Syrian forces head to Latakia after heavy clashes were reported  Reuters

A thousand Syrians are said to have died in the latest clashes taking place in Syria. Assad Alawite loyalists have stormed villages with the intention of targeting men of the majority Sunni sect, while gunmen loyal to the current government stormed three villages close to the Syrian coast killing men there, in the villages of Sheer, Mukhtariyeh and Haffah, according to Syrian war monitor British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

 

"They killed every man they encountered", Rami Abdurrahman, chief of the Observatory said, in reference to gunmen killing residents belonging to Syria's minority Alawite sect, aligned with former Alawite President Bashar al-Assad. Women and children were left unharmed in the three villages after the men were summarily executed. 

 

In the village of Mukhtariyeh, according to Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen TV, men were separated from women and children, and shot to death. In Sheer and Haffah, similar occurrences took place. Bodies were left lying in the streets. People were terrified of venturing out of their homes, homes where their own men were killed when gunmen went through apartment blocks to knock at doors asking what sect lived in each apartment. 

Funeral of four security forces members in clashes with Assad loyalists March 8, 2024, AP

 An unnamed security official was quoted by State news agency SANA saying that after attacks by forces loyal to Assad left police dead, large numbers of people streamed to areas along the coast "in what led to some individual violations and we are working on stop[ping] them". Updated figures raise the total number of people killed by clashes between government forces and fighters loyal to Assad since conflict broke out on Thursday, to 1,000 dead.

 

Damascus dispatched reinforcements to the coastal cities of Latakia and Tartus overnight, and along to nearby towns and villages in areas representing the heartland of Assad's minority Alawite sect, his base of support, in an effort to bring the situation under control,according to state media outlets. The surge in violent action represents the worst since insurgent groups led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took over the country.

 

Growing concerns after deadly clashes across SyriaMore than a thousand people, mostly civilians, have died during fighting between government forces and supporters of former Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.  REUTERS/Karam al-Masri 

There have been occasional sectarian attacks since then against minority Alawites, despite the new authorities in Damascus pledging they would not permit collective punishment or sectarian vengeance to occur. Alawites held top positions in the army and security agencies, under Bashar al-Assad. His loyalists have been accused by the new government of attacks in recent weeks against the country's new security forces.

 

A curfew was imposed on Latakia and other coastal areas where Friday morning saw large numbers of troops engaged. Security force members describe minor clashes in city neighbourhoods but that most of Latakia was calm, under government control. Syrian Observatory for Human Rights chief Rami Abdurrahman on the other hand, described the outskirts of the coastal towns of Vaniyas and Jableh remaining under control of Assad loyalists, along with Qardaha, Assad's hometown. 

Fighters with the new Syrian government load a rocket launcher on Friday in Baniyas, Syria. Hundreds of people have been killed in clashes between loyalists of the deposed Assad regime and forces of the country's new rulers. (Ali Haj Suleiman/Getty Images)