Over the past several days Syria has seen the worst violence since the fall of the Assad regime in December, with clashes between those loyal to deposed dictator Bashar al-Assad and fighters affiliated with Syria’s new Islamist leaders, who have reportedly killed civilians in execution-style “massacres” on Friday and Saturday.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which has monitored fighting in Syria since 2011, said on Sunday that over 700 people – including combatants – from the Alawite religious minority group have been killed, mostly by Syrian government forces.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights, another war monitoring group, reported earlier that government forces – led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – had killed roughly 125 civilians, saying that men of all ages were among the casualties and that the forces did not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The death toll numbers could not be independently verified.
The escalation in violence started on Thursday afternoon when Assad loyalists attacked and killed 13 Syrian government soldiers in the rural Latakia province, a former Assad stronghold and the home of many of Syria’s Alawite minority.
The coordinated attack marked the most direct challenge to the new Islamist authorities since their takeover three months ago, when opposition fighters led by HTS toppled the Syrian president Assad after decades of repressive rule and14 years of civil war.
The SOHR said the number of fighters killed in the past four days brings the total death toll to more than 1,000 people, including about 125 fighters affiliated with the new Islamist-led government and 148 pro-Assad fighters.
On Friday, interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa called on armed Assad loyalist groups to lay down their weapons “before it’s too late” and for those loyal to the new government to avoid attacking civilians. On Sunday, he reportedly said that "what is currently happening in Syria is within the expected challenges".
Members of Syria's new security forces prepare to reinforce the coastal area on March 8, 2025. A war monitor reported that government and allied forces killed nearly 750 civilians from the religious minority in recent days. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty Images
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz slammed Syria’s new Sunni Islamist rulers, calling al-Sharaa an al-Qaeda terrorist.
“[Abu Mohammed] al-Julani switched his robe for a suit and presented a moderate face,” Katz said in a statement, using the nom de guerre of interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa. “Now he’s taken off the mask and exposed his true face: A jihadist terrorist of the al-Qaeda school who is committing horrifying acts against a civilian population.”
Katz added that “Israel will defend itself against any threat from Syria” and said the military would continue to occupy a buffer zone along the Syrian-Israeli border as well as work to keep southern Syria demilitarised, as commanded by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in February.
Many pro-Israel activists have decried the killings in Syria and pointed to the relative silence of pro-Palestine activists regarding the Islamist-led slaughtering of religious minorities.
Researcher and Middle East analyst Andrew Fox wrote on X: “The images coming out of Syria are beyond horrifying. I won’t share them but they’re up there with 7th October. Whole families murdered, executions in cold blood, torture and slaughter. Jihadis never change their spots. Let there be an international outcry.”
Israeli writer and activist Hen Mazzig also commented on the imbalance of public outrage over the recent killings, writing on X: “The Houthis have committed atrocities, killing over 250,000 Yemenis in their ongoing war. In Syria, rebel forces have murdered over 1,000 Alawites in just a week. In Sudan, over 15,000 civilians have been killed in the ongoing conflict. The Islamic Republic of Iran has executed over 1,000 people in 2024 alone. Russian forces are responsible for the deaths of over 12,500 Ukrainian civilians. Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis in one day. Hamas continues to torture and torment 59 Israeli hostages, holding them captive for over 17 months. Yet, Israel is often labelled the worst offender in the world.”
