Reuters: Syrian Security and Defense Officials Implicated in Coastal Massacres
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A recent investigative report by Reuters has revealed the alleged involvement of Syria\u2019s General Security Directorate and senior Defense Ministry figures in mass killings that struck the country\u2019s coastal region in March. The report states that around 1,500 Alawite civilians were killed within two days during the massacres, with dozens still missing.<\/p>\n
Reuters\u2019 findings point to at least 10 armed factions, including units of foreign fighters now operating under the new Syrian government, as participants in the violence. Roughly half of these groups have faced international sanctions for human rights abuses, including murder, abduction, and sexual violence.<\/p>\n
Among the units named are the General Security Directorate \u2014 previously the main law enforcement arm of Hay\u2019at Tahrir al-Sham \u2014 the elite \u201c400th Division,\u201d and \u201cOsman Brigade.\u201d Other groups, such as the Sultan Suleiman Shah Division and Hamza Division, were also cited as having joined government forces recently.<\/p>\n
The report additionally highlights a sharp rise in kidnappings targeting Alawite women since March, with families widely sharing pleas and videos on social media to find their missing daughters. Reuters said its review found no similar reports involving women from other Syrian communities during the same period.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Reuters: Syrian Security and Defense Officials Implicated in Coastal Massacres ………………. A recent investigative report by Reuters has revealed the alleged involvement of Syria\u2019s General Security Directorate and senior Defense Ministry figures in mass killings that struck the country\u2019s coastal region in March. The report states that around 1,500 Alawite civilians were killed within two …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":128655,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_108372464460192_245495985553329":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-syria"],"yoast_head":"\n