Syrian Coastal Communities Reeling as Revenge Killings Target Alawites

Updated by Anastasios Gordon Sekandi at 03:24 EAT Monday 10 March 2025

Funerals have been held for some of the hundreds killed. *Courtesy Photo*.

Syria’s interim leader has pleaded for unity as waves of violence and retaliatory killings swept through areas loyal to ousted leader Bashar al-Assad, leaving entire communities devastated.

Hundreds have fled their homes in the coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus — longtime Assad strongholds — as reports of mass killings, including of women and children, emerged from the region.

In the Alawite-majority neighborhood of Hai Al Kusour in Banias, residents described harrowing scenes of bloodied bodies strewn across the streets. Witnesses said men of various ages were executed, their corpses left piled on the sidewalks.

The Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shia Islam that accounts for around 10% of Syria’s population, was closely tied to Assad’s regime. Now, members of the community are facing brutal reprisals.

“We were too scared to even look out the window,” one resident recounted. With the internet sporadic, many learned about the deaths of their neighbors through Facebook posts.

Fighting took place between the Syrian security forces and Assad loyalists in the country’s coastal region earlier this week. *Courtesy Photo*.

Survivors Speak of Horror

Ayman Fares, an Alawite man, said he survived only because he had been imprisoned for criticizing Assad’s corrupt rule. After Islamist-led forces toppled the regime last December, they freed political prisoners like Fares — ironically saving his life.

“The fighters recognized me and spared me, but they looted everything,” Fares told the BBC by phone. “They took my cars, my belongings, then moved to the next house. I saw entire families slaughtered. Women and children, covered in blood.”

He described the fighters as a mix of Syrians and foreign militants, possibly Uzbeks or Chechens, some of whom spoke unfamiliar languages.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported over 740 civilian deaths across Latakia, Jableh, and Banias, with an additional 300 security forces and former regime loyalists killed in clashes. The local media could not independently verify these figures.

Communities Fractured — and Some United

Ali, another Banias resident, said security forces eventually arrived, establishing escape routes for civilians. His family was rescued by their Sunni neighbors, who sheltered them despite sectarian divisions.

“We’ve lived together for years — Alawites, Sunnis, Christians. We never saw this kind of hatred,” Ali said. “But the Sunnis rushed to protect us from the killing.”

Displaced families were taken to schools in Sunni-majority areas, where they await safety as security forces attempt to drive out the armed factions.

The violence erupted after remnants of Assad’s loyalist militias ambushed security forces, killing dozens. In response, factions — including foreign fighters — stormed Alawite neighborhoods, targeting civilians in what survivors described as acts of collective punishment.

The Syrian army sent reinforcements after the violence to stabilise the region. *Courtesy Photo.*

A Nation on the Brink

The chaos has been worsened by the announcement of a new rebellion by Ghiath Dallah, a former Assad general, who declared the formation of the “Military Council for the Liberation of Syria.” Reports suggest pockets of Assad loyalists have retreated to the mountains, preparing for a prolonged insurgency.

Many Alawites, however, reject Dallah’s calls to arms. “They only care about bloodshed,” said Fares. “What we need now is security, justice for the victims, and prosecution of the killers — no matter who they are.”

Interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa faces mounting pressure to restore order. Critics accuse him of dismantling Syria’s security infrastructure without a strategy for reintegrating displaced officers and public workers. With 90% of Syrians living in poverty, the collapse of state institutions risks fueling endless cycles of violence.

The Path Forward

Public demonstrations in Damascus have condemned the killings, with citizens mourning the dead across sectarian lines. Yet, calls for jihad have also echoed in some Sunni communities, highlighting the depth of sectarian scars left by Assad’s brutal 13-year rule.

While Alawite officers were implicated in atrocities against Sunnis during Assad’s reign, many of the security personnel killed in recent clashes were themselves Sunni — a grim reminder of the war’s complexity.

Sharaa, whose Islamist-led coalition ousted Assad, must now navigate an impossibly delicate path: ensuring justice for victims of the old regime without enabling mass reprisals against innocent civilians.

For Syria to have any chance of lasting peace, observers argue, Sharaa must assert control over rogue factions, expel foreign fighters, and deliver a new constitution that guarantees equal rights for all Syrians, regardless of sect or ethnicity.

Without that, many fear the violence of recent days is only a preview of the bloodshed to come.