Hundreds of Civilians Killed by Government Forces in Syria

A Syria war monitor reported on Saturday that over 530 civilians from the Alawite minority had been killed in recent days by security forces and their allies, as authorities clash with militants loyal to the former government of Bashar al-Assad.

Restoring security has been one of the most complex tasks for Syria’s new authorities, installed after Islamist-led forces ousted Assad — himself an Alawite — in a lightning offensive in December.

They are now facing their fiercest attacks yet by members of the Assad clan’s Alawite minority and have launched a major counter-operation in the ethnic group’s Mediterranean heartland.

Deadly clashes on Thursday triggered the security operation, after previous tensions in the area.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitor of unclear funding, reported on Saturday that “532 Alawite civilians were killed in the coastal regions of Syria and the Latakia mountains by security forces and allied groups” since then.

The Observatory indicated they were killed in “executions” carried out by security personnel or pro-government fighters and accompanied by “looting of homes and properties.”

The civilian deaths bring the overall toll to 745 people, including 93 members of the new government’s security forces and 120 pro-Assad fighters, data from the Observatory shows.

The killings followed clashes sparked by the arrest of a wanted individual by security forces in a predominantly Alawite village, the Observatory reported.

The monitor said there had been a “relative return to calm” in the region on Saturday, but security forces were continuing sweeping operations and deploying reinforcements.

Early on Saturday, state news agency SANA reported that the security forces had repelled an “attack by remnants of the ousted regime” on the national hospital in the coastal city of Latakia.

Call to surrender

In an address on Friday, Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa urged the insurgents to “lay down your weapons and surrender before it’s too late.”

Western powers and Syria’s neighbors have emphasized the need for unity in the new Syria, which is seeking funds for reconstructing a nation ravaged by years of civil war under Assad.

The coastal region has been gripped by fears of reprisals against Alawites for the Assad family’s brutal rule, which included widespread torture and disappearances.

The Britain-based Observatory has reported multiple “massacres” in recent days, with women and children among the dead.

“The vast majority of the victims were summarily executed by elements affiliated to the Ministry of Defense and the Interior,” the rights group said on Friday.

The Observatory and activists released footage showing dozens of bodies in civilian clothing piled outside a house, with blood stains nearby and women wailing.

Other videos appeared to show men in military garb shooting people at close range.

AFP could not independently verify the images.

The United Nations envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, decried “very troubling reports of civilian casualties.”

He called on all sides to refrain from actions that could “destabilize Syria and jeopardize a credible and inclusive political transition.”

Aron Lund of the Century International think tank said the violence was “a bad omen.”

The new government lacks the tools, incentives and local base of support to engage with disgruntled Alawites, he said.

“All they have is repressive power, and a lot of that… is made up of jihadist zealots who think Alawites are enemies of God.”

Defense Minister Israel Katz commented on the events on Friday, saying: “[Al-Sharaa] switched his robe for a suit and presented a moderate face. Now he’s taken off the mask and exposed his true face: A jihadist terrorist of the al-Qaeda school who is committing horrifying acts against a civilian population.”

“Israel will defend itself against any threat from Syria,” Katz added, while vowing the military would continue to occupy a buffer zone along the border and keep working to keep southern Syria demilitarized.