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Thousands of civilians went missing after the Syrian interim government launched a deadly crackdown on the coast, the heartland of the Alawite religious minority, earlier this month, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) warned in a report on March 22.
The London-based monitoring group also revealed that hundreds of dead bodies were being held by Syrian authorities at several hospitals across the coast.
The crackdown began on March 6 when the Alawites rebelled on the coast following months of violations by government forces. The Alawites, Syria’s largest minority, are an offshoot of Islam Shiite. The family of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad belongs to the sect.
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, the killings continue.
“The violations were not limited to looting, displacement, and massacres of Alawites. They extended to even more brutal practices, with bodies being kept instead of being handed over, buried in mass graves, or burned,” the SOHR said, noting this “raises questions about the motivations behind these practices and whether they aim to obliterate the victims’ identities or completely erase their traces.”
The SOHR has so far documented the death of 1,614 civilians, mostly Alawites, in some 62 separate massacres on the coast.
At least 836 of the victims were killed in the governorate of Latakia, 503 in the governorate of Tartus, 262 in the governorate of Hama and 13 in the Homs governorate.
The monitoring group demanded an independent international investigation committee specializing in documentation, research, and investigation to “ensure the exposure of these violations and efforts to halt them, in addition to providing protection for civilians and preventing the continuation of these crimes.”
The investigation committee formed by the Syrian government, which reportedly includes members with an anti-Alawite sentiment, is yet to be heard from. I
In addition, none of the fighters and commanders confirmed to have taken part in violations on the coast have been yet held accountable by the government.
The brutal crackdown displaced at least 16,000 Alawites to northern and eastern Lebanon with more that 8,000 others taking shelter at Russia’s Khmeimim Air Base near the city of Jableh in the countryside of Latakia.
In a separate report from March 22, the SOHR warned that authorities in Tartus had threatened to seize the properties of the civilians who fled the killings.
All in all, tensions remain high on the coast. With the Islamist-led government showing no willingness to positively engage with the Alawites, another round of violence appears very likely. Meanwhile, Alawite leaders continue to call for international protection.
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