Syrian New Government Linked to 1,500 Alawite Massacre Across Multiple Sites

A Reuters investigation has uncovered that approximately 1,500 Alawites, a Shia Muslim minority linked to the former Assad regime, were massacred in Syria by Sunni fighters aligned with the new government led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, formerly of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an Islamist faction with roots in al-Qaeda. The killings, occurring between March 7 and 9, 2025, involved at least a dozen armed factions, including ex-HTS units and Turkish-backed militias, many already under international sanctions for human rights abuses. These attacks targeted Alawite communities along the Mediterranean coast in over 40 locations and featured brutal acts such as forced crawling, mutilations, and family-wide executions, with some militants using lists of names to identify victims. The violence followed the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad and the collapse of a pro-Assad uprising, with the new government under al-Sharaa seeking to consolidate power amid ongoing sectarian tensions. Despite al-Sharaa denouncing the killings and appointing a committee to investigate, no charges have been filed, raising concerns about accountability and the deepening sectarian divide in Syria. The Trump administration’s easing of sanctions on Syria during this period has sparked apprehension internationally, especially given the involvement of groups with extremist backgrounds now integrated into the governing structure.