Ongoing clashes in Syrian have left hundreds people dead and injured, marking the most violent escalation since the fall of ruling regime in December, 2024. Local reports indicate that armed groups have executed more than 340 individuals belonging to the Alawite sect in the countryside of Latakia province.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, security forces affiliated with the new Syrian administration executed “340 men in the towns of Al-Shayr and Al-Mukhtariyah in the countryside of Latakia province.” Meanwhile, government sources spoke of “individual violations” during security operations without providing further details on the incidents.
Activists circulated videos on social media platforms showing armed groups carrying out mass executions of young men and entire families. The activists claim these victims belonged to the Alawite sect and that the executions were carried out by extremist factions.
The Observatory said that it verified several videos showing piles of bodies in Latakia province and gathered testimonies from the victims’ families. Other footage allegedly depicts militants shooting civilians at close range. Local reports confirmed that Sheikh Shaaban Mansour, a prominent Syrian Alawite figure, was also assassinated by armed groups.
This comes amid a security operation featuring the fiercest clashes since the fall of the Assad regime. Syrian security forces are engaged in battles along the Syrian coast with what they describe as “remnants of the former regime,” particularly in Alawite-populated areas that were once strongholds of the previous government.
Since the regime’s fall on December 8, 2024, the Syrian Observatory has documented approximately “240 cases of executions and acts of revenge” in Alawite-populated areas, particularly in Homs and Hama provinces. Meanwhile, the head of the Syrian transitional administration.
The executions are occurring amid fears of revenge attacks following the fall of the Assad regime. Residents of Alawite minority areas told Agence France-Presse about incidents of killings and abuses on “religious grounds,” allegedly carried out by “foreign militants affiliated with extremist factions,” according to eyewitness accounts.
Germany’s special envoy to Syria, Stefan Schneck, condemned the violence and called for peaceful solutions. His EU counterpart, Michael Ohnmacht, echoed the sentiment, stressing the need for Syrians to live in safety and participate in a peaceful transition.
The Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), the political wing of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), called on Damascus to avoid military escalation and warned against targeting civilians. The Kurdish administration in northeast Syria accused the government of ignoring the country’s ethnic and sectarian diversity.
