Over four days, attacks, fueled by revenge and sectarian tensions, were carried out predominantly on Alawite villages and towns. Reports indicate that more than 800 people, many of them civilians, have been killed. We strongly condemn these atrocities which include summary executions, indiscriminate shootings, looting and acts of personal humiliation.
Kidnappings and extrajudicial killings
Many families have fled the large-scale violence in the coastal region, seeking refuge in nearby mountains, larger cities, the Hmeimim military base or Lebanon. Today, members of the Alawite community living on the Syrian coast and in other cities in Syria continue to live in fear of renewed violence. Their sense of marginalization has deepened amid a wave of kidnappings and extrajudicial killings targeting Alawite citizens in recent weeks, particularly in Homs and its countryside. As the transitional government’s response to human rights violations is perceived by some as ambivalent and delayed, its failure to provide security guarantees to Syrian citizens is heightening fears of further violence and a potential civil war.
Historical opposites
Further violence against and between community groups poses a major risk in multi-ethnic and multi-religious Syria, where deep historical divisions exist. One of the pillars of the highly violent and repressive Assad regime was a sophisticated divide-and-rule strategy among different ethnic and religious groups. Religious minorities were united under the regime’s “protection,” driven by their fear of the Sunni majority. This divide-and-rule pattern intensified after the war began in 2011. The regime itself, as well as neighbouring countries, exploited these divisions, using local allies—often chosen based on sectarian or ethnic grounds—to fight their own proxy wars in Syria. Large-scale massacres, often sectarian in nature, and acts of revenge against population groups became part of the regime’s repertoire, as well as that of various armed groups active in Syria.
Power politics
The fall of Assad does not mean that these underlying patterns and conflicts have simply disappeared, as recent massacres have demonstrated. Foreign jihadists remain active in Syria, Turkey continues to target the Kurds, and Israel justifies its illegal annexation and occupation of Syrian territory by claiming to “protect” the Druze minority in Syria. This is a repetition of past strategies—once again, a population group is being used as an instrument of power politics and, in the eyes of many Syrians, is being made suspect. Even in Europe, voices are calling for the “protection” of minorities, particularly Christians. While understandable, this approach is playing with fire, as it inadvertently contributes to the toxic cycle of group-based thinking and the potential for sectarian violence in Syria. Large-scale violence has been targeting Alawite civilians as a result of the association of this group with the Assad regime and its crimes. Although the regime’s primary aim was power, obedience, and loyalty—persecuting Alawite dissidents as ruthlessly as others—it was also disproportionately composed of Alawite members. They were overrepresented in the regime’s repression apparatus, including the prison system, the notorious security services, and the militias and paramilitary forces deployed against Syrian civilians. While primary responsibility lies with the interim government to prevent such violence to happen again, it also lies with neighbouring countries and the international community which must refrain from actions and rhetoric that further inflame tensions between different population groups in Syria. Instead, they must create the conditions necessary for a peaceful transition.
By condemning the violence and announcing an investigation, the Syrian transitional government has acknowledged its responsibility. To break the cycle of violence and revenge, it is now crucial that authorities continue to unequivocally speak out against all forms of violence against civilian groups. While PAX welcomes the establishment of a national committee to investigate the events of March 6, we recall the importance of conducting the investigation independently, ensuring transparency in its findings, and holding those responsible accountable. Without a thorough investigation and the prosecution of those responsible for the crimes, the suspicion of collective complicity will remain. A comprehensive reconciliation process is crucial to prevent further sectarian violence and fostering sustainable peace.
