Sectarian massacres in Syria threaten fragile transition
Nearly 1,500 Alawite civilians were brutally killed in a wave of sectarian violence that swept Syria’s Mediterranean coast between March 7 and 9, following an armed uprising by Assad loyalists. A detailed investigation has revealed that the chain of command behind the attacks leads to figures currently serving in Syria’s new leadership in Damascus.
Among the most shocking incidents was the murder of 25-year-old Suleiman Rashid Saad, whose heart was cut out and placed on his chest. He was number 56 on a list of 60 victims from the village of Al-Rusafa, which included neighbors, cousins, and six children. His father, Rashid Saad, recounted how the killers taunted him by calling from his son’s phone and daring him to retrieve the body.
The massacres were carried out by Sunni fighters in retaliation for an insurgency by Assad loyalists that had left 200 security personnel dead just a day earlier, according to official sources. The investigation identified 40 different locations where acts of looting, arson, and murder were committed, mostly targeting the Alawite minority, historically associated with the Assad regime.
The violence has exposed the depth of sectarian division in Syria—a rift the new leadership has yet to address. Tensions remain high between those who supported the former regime and those who had hoped for its downfall.
The revelations come at a time when the United States is beginning to ease long-standing sanctions on Syria. This move is controversial, given that the new government is dominated by figures from a now-disbanded Islamist group formerly known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), once affiliated with al-Qaeda under the name Nusra Front.
Ahmed al-Sharaa, who led the military campaign that toppled Bashar al-Assad and captured Damascus, assumed the presidency in January. A Sunni Muslim, al-Sharaa has been under United Nations sanctions since 2014.
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