The Path to TreaKilling of 13 Alawites by Al-Sharaa Forces Rekindles Sectarian Woundsting Knee Pain May Begin in the Ear

5th June 2025

3 minutes read

The Path to TreaKilling of 13 Alawites by Al-Sharaa Forces Rekindles Sectarian Woundsting Knee Pain May Begin in the Ear

Eight civilians were shot dead by security personnel near a checkpoint in Hama, while the remaining five were executed after being detained by security forces in Damascus—despite the government’s promises to protect the Alawite community following recent coastal massacres.

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Eight Alawite civilians were killed on Wednesday by gunfire from “security checkpoint personnel” in Hama province, central Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). The group also reported that five young men from the same minority were found dead two days after being arrested by security forces.

The killing of Alawite civilians comes amid growing criticism of the new Syrian government, which is increasingly accused of targeting the country’s minorities. This incident follows a bloody massacre that claimed dozens of Alawite lives on the Syrian coast, as well as a series of attacks against the Druze community.

Since the ousting of Bashar al-Assad late last year, violations against religious minorities—including the Alawites, the former president’s own community—have posed one of the main challenges for the new authorities, who pledged to protect all segments of society. In March, over 1,000 people, the vast majority Alawites, were killed in coastal violence.

On Wednesday, the SOHR reported that “security checkpoint personnel summarily executed eight civilians, including three women, and wounded five others—all from the Alawite sect.” The victims were aboard a bus in the western countryside of Hama.

The checkpoint officers “stopped the bus and opened fire on it, then pulled out the surviving passengers and shot them as well,” the SOHR said.

In a separate incident earlier Wednesday, the SOHR reported that “the bodies of five Alawite men” were found Tuesday evening at Al-Mujtahid Hospital in Damascus, two days after they went missing following their arrest at a security checkpoint. The men were “executed on the spot with gunfire.”

The victims had been returning to their homes in the Alawite-populated Ash al-Warwar district aboard a small bus carrying seven passengers and a driver. They were coming back from work at a restaurant in the Barzeh district of Damascus when they were stopped at a checkpoint early Sunday morning.

The bus driver was injured and is being treated at Al-Mujtahid Hospital. One passenger remains missing.

The SOHR noted that the victims’ families had been informed that the young men were being held by General Security and were “in good health” a day before their deaths. Their bus was in the custody of the Criminal Security branch in Harasta, near the capital.

President Ahmad Al-Sharaa has pledged to ensure the safety of all religious groups amid growing minority concerns, while the international community continues to press the government to involve all components of society in the transitional process.

In March, violence in Syria’s coastal region claimed the lives of more than 1,700 people—most of them Alawites. Authorities accused pro-Assad militias of fueling the unrest by launching bloody attacks. Military reinforcements were deployed to Alawite-majority areas.

Entire families were killed, including women, children, and the elderly. Armed militants reportedly stormed homes, asked residents whether they were Alawite or Sunni, and either executed or spared them based on their answers, according to survivors and human rights organizations.

The presidency formed a fact-finding committee to investigate the coastal massacre, but its findings have not yet been released. The international community continues to call for better protection of minorities.