Hundreds of Civilians Killed in Syria in a Few Days

For three days now, fierce clashes have continued in Syria between security forces of the new government in Damascus and militants who remain loyal to former President Bashar al-Assad, ousted on December 8. Hundreds of people have been killed in fighting that erupted after mass executions of dozens of men accused of links to the previous regime in the coastal areas of western Syria’s Latakia and Tartus.

The new Syrian authorities have put to fire and sword several locations in the west of the country in an attempt to quell an uprising by civilians loyal to Bashar al-Assad. Following a wave of protests in the Mediterranean provinces of Latakia and Tartus, a group of former Assad army officers attacked a convoy of the new Syrian government consisting of fighters from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a movement recognized in Russia and several other countries as a “dangerous terrorist organization.”

As the London-based non-governmental organization Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on Saturday, March 8, more than 300 Alawite civilians were killed on Friday, March 7 alone in raids and clashes between security forces and affiliated groups on one side and supporters of Bashar al-Assad on the other side. More than 500 others, including women and children, were injured.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Monitoring Center said in a statement that “311 Alawite civilians of the coastal region were killed by security forces, and including these casualties, the total number of deaths in the clashes that began on Thursday, March 6, reached 524 men and women.” Shocking videos of mass executions of Alawites – supporters of ousted President Bashar al-Assad – have surfaced online.

Syrian leader Ahmed Sharaa, also known by his militant name Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, called on Alawite rebels, who represent the minority-backing ousted President Bashar al-Assad, to lay down their arms “before it’s too late.” He also assured that he would continue “efforts to establish a state monopoly on weapons,” emphasizing that “there will be no more uncontrolled circulation of weapons.”

The Latakia region is home to the Alawite religious minority, who make up 11% to 12% of Syria’s population and belong to the same denomination as former President Bashar al-Assad. The situation in the region began to escalate after the Internal Security Department of Syria’s new interim government launched on March 4 a large-scale crackdown on Assad supporters in several areas of Latakia, the country’s most important port. Over the past two months, Assad supporters have carried out four operations in northwestern Syria, killing and wounding several members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s Military Operations Department.