Amid the security chaos following the fall of the former regime in Syria, massacres and violations against many families resumed, most notably affecting Alawite families in the countryside of Homs and the Syrian coast. Following threats and systematic massacres against this sect, many families fled from death, heading toward regions in northeastern Syria.
A Grueling Journey to Escape Death
The family of “Ali Ammar” is one of those that escaped the horrors of massacres. “Ali Ammar” (a pseudonym) hails from the eastern countryside of Homs. He recounts his tragedy: “On December 8, 2024, as the security chaos intensified in the villages of eastern Homs, we were forced to flee to the Syrian coast in search of safety. But conditions there were no less harsh.”
Upon arriving in the city of Jableh, his son was subjected to a racist incident at a checkpoint, where Alawite and Sunni youth were terrifyingly separated—Alawites on one side and Sunnis on the other. The son managed to escape by joining the Sunni youth to avoid being killed.
Ali Ammar continues recounting what happened when he returned to his village two days later: “When I arrived, masked gunmen from various armed factions attacked the Alawite villages. They began firing randomly, escalating into killings, beatings, and looting. I was severely assaulted and dragged for 20 meters before one of them threatened to slaughter me.”
According to Ammar, armed factions affiliated with the Damascus authorities and Turkish-backed mercenaries surrounded six villages in the eastern Homs countryside and began interrogating the village men brutally using whips and metal rods. The choice presented was: torture or death. Elders and village leaders were forced to decide whether to hand over weapons or face execution.
Ammar adds: “We had no weapons in the village. Still, they demanded that the men bring a weapon or face torture and death.” He recalls a horrifying incident in which a young man who refused to hand over his motorcycle was killed in cold blood in front of his father.
Ammar noted that these factions clearly aimed to alter the region’s demographics, replacing displaced Alawite families with militants and their families.
Ongoing Kidnapping and Killing
Elsewhere, “Nadwa Salim” (a pseudonym), a displaced woman from the village of Dalia in the Syrian coast, shares her and her community’s suffering from the massacres committed against them. She says:
“The factions began searching for wanted individuals who were actually innocent and uninvolved in the conflict. Families refused to hand over their sons, leading to clashes.”
Nadwa adds that the armed factions set the mountains ablaze to prevent locals from seeking refuge there, then launched attacks on Alawite villages. Massacres were committed in villages such as Harison, Qarfeis, Al-Qabu, and Dalia. Armed groups looted homes and burned cars and property.
She also reveals a massive demographic shift in the area, where Alawite families were displaced and replaced with armed groups and their families: “They brought in families from other regions to take our place in the villages we left behind.”
More than 50 Alawite Women and Girls Kidnapped to Idlib
Nadwa confirms that kidnappings were ongoing, with over 50 Alawite women and girls abducted and taken to the city of Idlib, where they were sold in slave markets. She accused Turkish-occupation-backed mercenaries, including the Hamzat and Sultan Murad groups, of committing these massacres.
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