Illustrative image. (The Syrian Arab News Agency)
Civilians from the Alawite religious minority are still being targeted by the forces of Syria’s Islamist-led interim government.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on March 27 that at least three Alawites were killed by government forces in two separate incidents on the Syrian coast, the heartland of the minority group which former president Bashar al-Assad belongs to.
A civilian was “executed” by security forces in the town of Bustan Alhamam close to the city of Banias in the northern Tartus countryside, according to the London-based monitoring group, which also said that two other civilians were shot and killed by security forces near the town of Harf al-Musaytirah in the area of Qardaha in the southern Latakia countryside.
In addition to the recent killing, several women and young girls were reportedly abducted from Tartus and Latakia in recent days, with local activists blaming government forces.
More than 1,600 civilians, mostly Alawites, were killed during a brutal government crackdown on the coast that began on March 6.
After facing international pressure, the Syrian government announced that all operations on the coast were over by March 10 and formed an investigation committee. However, Alawite civilians are still being targeted by government forces on a daily basis.
The last crackdown displaced at least 21,000 Alawites to northern and eastern Lebanon with around 10,000 others taking shelter at Russia’s Khmeimim Air Base near the city of Jableh in the southern countryside of Latakia. The numbers continue to grow.
Earlier this week, government forces dispatched large reinforcements to the coast, sparking fears of a new wave of violence.
There were also reports of Russian forces expanding their control around Khmeimim to improve the security of the air base and protect civilians taking shelter there.
Overall, the Syrian government is yet to take any steps to assure the Alawites or at least to end the violence on the coast. At the same time, none of the fighters and commanders responsible for killing civilians during the last crackdown has been held accountable yet. This threatens to push Syria towards a dangerous sectarian war that could lead to even more division.
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