CSW is deeply concerned by continuing sectarian violence targeting the Alawite community in Syria following the fall of the Assad regime.
CSW’s sources in Syria confirmed that two Alawite brothers, Alaa Al-Qasem, 37, and Majd Al-Qasem, 32, were shot dead inside their shop by an unidentified armed group in the Al-Arman neighbourhood in the city of Homs on 10 March. At around 5.15pm armed men on motorcycles stopped at the brothers’ shop and asked them whether they were Alawites. They were shot dead immediately when they answered yes.
The family of the victims told CSW that they were mocked and insulted because of their religious identity by some staff at Homs National Hospital, where the bodies of the victims were taken.
In a similar incident, an Alawite family of six, the Mansour family, was killed in the Al-Sabeel neighbourhood in Homs on 3 April.
The Alawites are a religious minority in Syria, comprising approximately ten percent of Syria’s population, which is majority Sunni Muslim. Ousted Syrian President Bashar al Assad was Alawite.
CSW interviewed many families in Homs who reported that incidents of sectarian bullying have become more common in schools and workplaces. Powerful fireworks are frequently thrown at children’s playgrounds and at women walking along the street. Some children told CSW that they were forced to bark and crawl by other children because they are Alawites.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) reported two other incidents which took place on 30 and 31 March in the Karm al-Zaytoun neighbourhood in Homs and Harf Bnamra village in Banyas City, which resulted in the killing of 12 civilians, including five children and a woman. Investigations revealed that the perpetrators were members of military and security formations affiliated with the ministries of defence and interior affairs in the transitional government.
The SNHR also reports that six civilians were killed on 30 March, including four children and a woman, and one person was seriously injured after two gunmen stormed a civilian home in Karm al-Zaytoun neighbourhood in Homs on 30 March and opened fire indiscriminately. The testimonies of several local residents confirmed that perpetrators were members of military formations affiliated with the government.
On 31 March, six civilians, including a child, were killed in Harf Bnamra village, Banyas City in the countryside of Tartus governorate near the Mediterranean Sea. The attack was carried out by two gunmen who were stationed at a checkpoint known as ‘al-Daysna.’ Security forces arrested the perpetrators immediately and replaced the military checkpoint with public security personnel. Additionally, a delegation from the security authority visited the village, met with community leaders, and pledged to hold the perpetrators accountable.
Sectarian violence broke out in Syria in early March, when Alawite insurgents conducted a coordinated assault across coastal Syria and killed Sunni civilians and government militiamen. These actions provoked widespread retaliation by government forces supported by Sunni volunteers, resulting in the killing of hundreds of Alawite civilians and exacerbating pre-existing sectarian tensions in the area. One insurgent leader indicated that the coordinated attacks were meant to trigger sectarian reprisals from the government in order to damage the new regime’s international image.
CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas said: ‘We extend our sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims of recent sectarian violence, and wish those who were injured a swift and full recovery. CSW urges President Al-Sharaa and the interim government to deal swiftly and decisively with sectarian incitement and to ensure that all Syrian citizens receive protection from sectarian violence and equal treatment under the law. We also call upon the international community to support the Syrian people at this critical time of transition with the provision of humanitarian aid and sanctions relief. The Syrian government must be encouraged to speed up the transitional justice process and launch a national dialogue initiative to address sectarianism and divisions between different community groups without further delay.’