Over the past week there has been a bloody massacre of Alaawites in Syria, including killings of women, children, the elderly, and noncombatants. The death toll is in the thousands and climbing.
The atrocities committed by extremist militants have been documented and posted on social media by the militants themselves. Scores of horrific videos have appeared online of the atrocities, accompanied by brags about these human rights violations, terrorist rhetoric, and threats of further violence against minorities. While the Alawite community has been experiencing violence at the hands of these extremists since the fall of the Assad regime in December, the recent events mark a drastic escalation.
This escalation occurred in retaliation for an uprising in the region against the new interim government, following months of violence. Witnesses describe the militants going door to door and killing ethnic minorities, especially Alaawites and Christians. They are also stealing cash, jewelry, and cars.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the democratic, US-allied forces in northeast Syria, have condemned these atrocities, and Ahmed Al-Sharaa the interim President of Syria has condemned the attacks and appointed a committee to investigate the massacres. In an attempt to lessen the pressure and hostilities in the country, Mazloum Abdi Kobane, the commander of the SDF, reached an agreement with Al-Sharaa on Monday to merge military and civilian institutions.
As the Syrian Democratic Council Executive Co-Chair Ilham Amed stated, “The agreement between our forces and the Syrian transitional administration comes in the context of the painful events witnessed by our people on the coast, and it is a step aimed at stopping them, and stopping all military operations on Syrian soil.”
American Congressional leaders have also spoken out about the violence in addition to calling for accountability and caution when dealing with the new interim government.