Syria forces beef up security amid mass killings of Alawites

By AFP

Syrian security forces deployed heavily in the Alawite heartland on the Mediterranean coast on Saturday, after a war monitor reported that government and allied forces killed nearly 750 civilians from the religious minority in recent days.

Residents of the region continued to report killings of civilians after deadly clashes broke out on Thursday between Syria's new authorities and gunmen loyal to toppled president Bashar al-Assad, himself an Alawite.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that 745 Alawite civilians were killed in the coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus.

The Britain-based Observatory said they were killed in "executions" carried out by security personnel or pro-government fighters, accompanied by the "looting of homes and properties".

The civilian deaths took the overall toll from violence in the region since Thursday to 1,018, after fighting killed 125 members of the new government's security forces and 148 pro-Assad fighters, according to the Observatory's figures.

The official SANA news agency reported that security forces had deployed to Latakia, as well as Jableh and Baniyas farther south, to restore order.

Baniyas resident Samir Haidar, 67, told AFP two of his brothers and his niece were killed by "armed groups" that entered people's homes, adding that there were "foreigners among them".

He managed to escape to a Sunni neighbourhood, but said: "If I had been five minutes late, I would have been killed... we were saved in the last minutes."

Though himself an Alawite, Haidar was part of the leftist opposition to the Assads and was imprisoned for more than a decade under their rule.

Defence ministry spokesman Hassan Abdul Ghani said the security forces had "reimposed control" over areas that had seen attacks by Assad loyalists.

"It is strictly forbidden to approach any home or attack anyone inside their homes," he added in a video posted by SANA.

Calls to surrender

The news agency later reported that "regime remnants" staged an ambush in the town of Al-Haffah in Latakia province, killing one member of the security forces and wounding two.

Education Minister Nazir al-Qadri announced that schools would remain shut on Sunday and Monday in both Latakia and Tartus provinces due to the "unstable security conditions".

SANA reported a power outage throughout Latakia province due to attacks on the grid by Assad loyalists.

The killings followed clashes sparked by the arrest of a wanted suspect in a predominantly Alawite village, the Observatory reported.

The monitor said there had been a "relative return to calm" in the region on Saturday, as the security forces deployed reinforcements.

A defence ministry source told SANA that troops had blocked roads leading to the coast to prevent "violations", without specifying who was committing them.

Latakia province security director Mustafa Kneifati said: "We will not allow for sedition or the targeting of any component of the Syrian people.

"We will not tolerate any acts of revenge under any circumstances," he told SANA.

Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which led the lightning offensive that toppled Assad in December, has its roots in the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda and remains proscribed as a terrorist organisation by many governments including the United States.

Since the rebel victory, it has sought to moderate its rhetoric and vowed to protect Syria's religious and ethnic minorities.

'Slaughtered'

The Alawite heartland has been gripped by fear of reprisals for the Assad family's brutal rule, which included widespread torture and disappearances.

Social media users have shared posts documenting the killing of Alawite friends and relatives, with one user saying her mother and brothers were "slaughtered" in their home.

AFP could not independently verify the accounts.

The Observatory, which relies on a network of sources in Syria, has reported multiple "massacres" in recent days, with women and children among the dead.

The Observatory and activists released footage showing dozens of bodies in civilian clothing piled outside a house, with blood stains nearby and women wailing.

Other videos appeared to show men in military garb shooting people at close range.

AFP could not independently verify the images.

The leaders of Syria's three main Christian churches issued a joint statement condemning "the massacres targeting innocent civilians".

The spiritual leader of Syria's Druze minority, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajri, also called for an end to the violence.

The International Committee of the Red Cross urged all parties to "ensure umimpeded access to health care and protection of medical facilities".

Aron Lund of the Century International think tank said the violence was "a bad omen".

The new government lacks the tools, incentives and local support base to engage with disgruntled Alawites, he said.

"All they have is repressive power, and a lot of that... is made up of jihadist zealots who think Alawites are enemies of God."