Three women belonging to the Al-Murshidi, or Al-Murshidiyyah, religious minority community were killed in the Karm Al-Louz neighbourhood of Homs, Syria, in an attack by two men wearing balaclavas and riding a motorcycle.

CSW sources in Homs report that Manal Hassan and her 19-year-old daughter Lynn Haydar were shot dead on 18 April. Ms Hasan’s other daughter, Luna, also 19, was severely wounded and taken to hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries on 22 April. Eyewitnesses said the victims were shot while crossing a road.

The Al-Murshidiyyah is a Syrian religious community which emerged in the 1940s as an offshoot of the Alawi/Nusayri sect. There are no official statistics about the number of adherents, but several reports estimate it comprises approximately 300,000 persons living primarily in the Western Syrian Provinces of Homs, Latakia and Tarsus, and in some suburbs of Damascus.

CSW sources also reported that religiously-motivated abuses, including insults, bullying, intimidation, and the throwing of sound bombs and powerful fireworks at Alawite gatherings and school playgrounds, have become more frequent in recent weeks.

CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas said: ‘CSW extends our sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of Manal Hassan, Lynn Haydar and Luna Haydar. We urge 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. The Syrian government must be encouraged to speed up the transitional justice process and launch a national dialogue to address sectarianism and divisions between different community groups without further delay. We also call upon the international community to assist the Syrian people by providing humanitarian aid and sanctions relief at this critical time of transition.’