Thousands of Alawites on the run after massacres in Syria
It is, among other things, from the coastal city of Baniyas that the testimonies of regular massacres on civilians arrive. It must have been going on mainly during Friday and until Saturday morning, when the government's security forces were again reported to have control over the situation.
– They forced people out on the streets, lined them up and started shooting them. They left none. No one at all. What I saw was pure terror, it is not possible to describe, says one of the residents of Baniyas to Sky News.
The violence is aimed at the Alawiter people group, the same minority to the former dictator Bashar al-Assad, and where many have supported the previous rule. In Alawite villages along the coast, men mainly have been shot in the streets or in their homes, according to testimonies. Many homes must also have been shot, plundered and set on fire.
According to the Syrian The Human Rights Observatory (SOHR) has at least 745 civilian alawites in Syria been killed by security forces and allies for the past three days.
« This is one of the biggest massacres in the Syrian conflict, » says Sohr Manager Rami Abdulrahman in a statement.
In addition, at least 273 people have been killed in battles between security forces and supporters of the overthrown dictator Bashar al-Assad. The total death figure is thus up for over a thousand people since the violence began on Thursday, according to the organization.
But it may be considerably More killed, According to Sweden Radiowhich has a correspondent in place on the border between Syria and Lebanon. In the last days, thousands have tried to get to safety in the mountains and at least 8,000 move over the border to Lebanon, according to SR. Here, too, several shocked people testify about massacres and that children have been shot.
On Saturday, Syrian forces were sent to the cities of Latakia, Jableh and Baniyas to restore the order, says the state news agency Sana. The roads were blocked so that no more armed groups could get there. There are many different groups in Syria that the incumbent government has difficulty controlling and that enter into the unrest.
Ahmed Al-Sharaa, leader of the country's interim board and the Islamist Movement Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, urged in a speech on Friday night Al-Assad's followers to close down the weapons-« before it's too late », according to TT.
On Sunday he said in Arabic Media that « development lies within the expected challenges » and he called for unity in the country, Reuters writes. The news agency states that the clashes between Assad supporters and government forces continue.
According to the Middle East connoisseur Aron Lundat FOI, the government is pinched from two directions, it must show hardness to the followers of the fallen regime, but at the same time prove tolerant to minorities to appease the west and be able to unite the country. But the governing HTS rebels, with Ahmed Al-Shaara at the forefront, which has a background in the terrorist group al-Qaeda, at the same time abhors the Alawites. The management does not have control over the footmen in the security forces, and the many armed groups do as they please.
