Communities across western Syria report an increase in killings and kidnappings since the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad. Local residents, survivors and rights monitors say many attacks have been carried out by masked gunmen on motorcycles and that some victims are being targeted because of their religious background.
On 1 October two cousins, Wissam and Shafiq Mansour, both 39, were fatally shot while sitting outside a café in the village of Anaz in Wadi al-Nasara, a Christian area of rural Homs province. Witnesses said the attacker came from the direction of a neighbouring Sunni village and left immediately after the shooting.
Sitting near a coffin at the funeral, the father of one victim criticised the authorities and said his community had been left exposed. He said: “Guns were taken from us but left in the hands of a rival (Sunni) village,” he said. “We want to carry arms against them. They don’t know anything about religion or love or peace. Today it’s Wissam, tomorrow it could be anyone.”
Many families in the valley had supported the previous regime and looked to it for protection. Wissam had served in a pro-Assad militia that defended his village, and some locals believe that role made him a target.
The lone survivor of the Anaz attack, shot in the hand and with a broken ankle, said he had returned to Syria from Lebanon after the fall of the regime with hopes of rebuilding. He told reporters: “We all came back home,” he said, “wanting to start new businesses. But what we were promised about security, and a future for Syria, we do not see it. My dearest friends are dead. I will have to leave the country again. There are many extremist groups. I don’t know where Syria is going.”
A short drive from the valley, in the city of Homs, residents described nearly daily incidents of abduction and drive-by shootings. Rights groups and local contacts say a pattern has emerged of killings concentrated in Alawite-majority areas.
On 28 September Shaaban Al Ezzeldin, 46, was shot dead as he locked his family shop at night. His brother Adnan, speaking from the family premises, said the killing reflected wider, sectarian danger. He said: “People are being killed just because they are Alawites, no more, no less. My brother was loved by everyone in the area, by all our neighbours, by all sects. Some of our neighbours used to come to the shop and enjoy evenings with him. He never bothered or harmed anyone.”
Adnan suggested that the removal of a nearby checkpoint — where his brother used to speak with security forces — left the area more exposed, though he stopped short of blaming any specific group: he added that the family were “not accusing anyone”.
He warned of a wider consequence: “What’s happening right now is the seed for forced emigration,” he says. “It’s just the beginning. Someone is trying to destabilise the situation, and oppose co-existence, though we have been living together for hundreds of years.” He also said: “I lost my brother, and others lost their loved ones too. If we are all going to get killed, it’s better we flee.”
Many of those killed have been civilians with no ties to armed groups. In August a 14-year-old girl, Ghina, was shot while standing on her balcony in Homs after neighbours had gathered to celebrate her exam results.
Her mother has turned the girl’s bedroom into a place of remembrance. “Her soul is still hanging over the place,” she says. “Her friends come every few days. No one fully grasps the idea that she is now dead.”
The mother described the wider atmosphere of fear: “Alawite families started leaving the area, they sell their houses and go. We thought it would get better (after the fall of Assad). They said it was liberation; people would live freely. Now we fear everything. We are scared when we hear a motorbike.” She added: “She was smiling since the day she was born,” her mother says. “She loved life so much.”
Asked whether the family believed they were targeted because of their sect, she replied simply: “Yes”.
Estimating the full extent of the violence is difficult because many incidents are isolated and families are reluctant to speak publicly. By comparing local media, contacts on the ground and human rights reports, investigators estimate at least 40 Alawites were killed in separate attacks in Homs between 5 June and 31 October. Victims included a student, a farmer, a taxi driver, a teacher killed in a grenade attack on a school bus, and another person shot in front of a classroom.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) reports rising numbers of murders and kidnappings in Homs province and says Alawite-majority areas have been hit hardest. Many attacks appear to be revenge killings against former regime members or those suspected of collaboration.
Alawites make up roughly 10% of Syria’s population and under the Assads held prominent roles in the security services and armed forces. Whether individuals supported the regime or not, many members of the community now say they feel vulnerable.
Syria’s interim government has vowed to protect all citizens and not only the Sunni majority. Its Justice Minister, Mazhar al-Wais, has said public trials will be held for those accused of taking part in large-scale sectarian violence in earlier months.
Investigations into many recent killings remain open or have produced no arrests. Families say unresolved cases and ongoing attacks are prompting some to leave the country once more.
This article is based on on-the-ground reporting, interviews with survivors and relatives, and cross-checked information from local sources and human rights organisations.
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