Nearly 1,000 Civilians Massacred in Syria by HTS Forces: Monitor

By Staff, Agencies

A so-called Syrian war monitor says militants aligned with Syria’s ruling HTS administration have killed nearly 1,000 civilians in a series of “massacres” committed in recent days in the western coastal region of the Arab nation.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said on Monday that “the total number of civilian martyrs who were liquidated amounted to 973, including women and children.”

The Observatory added that the “killings, field executions and ethnic cleansing operations” were ongoing in the wake of bloody clashes between HTS-led militants and armed opposition groups loyal to former President Bashar al-Assad.

Its previous toll of 830 had specified the “executions” targeted the Alawite community, which accounts for 12% of Syria's population, in the Mediterranean coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus.

According to the Britain-based monitoring group, militant groups supporting the new HTS administration lost 231 members during the clashes, which began on March 6.

Over 250 pro-Assad fighters have also been killed in the process. Authorities have not provided a casualty count.

In several areas, Alawites have faced retribution killings, looting, and arson.

Witnesses have described horrific scenes where militants have stormed homes, executed Alawites in the streets, and set properties on fire. Thousands have fled into the mountains, fearing further attacks.

In the coastal city of Baniyas, located 55 kilometers (34 miles) south of Latakia, bodies were strewn on the streets as residents were too afraid to retrieve them.

Ali Sheha, a 57-year-old resident, told AFP news agency that at least 20 of his neighbors had been killed, some inside their shops and homes.

“Gunmen were firing at houses, looting shops, and checking IDs to execute Alawites,” he said.

SOHR chief Rami Abdurrahman called the revenge killings “one of the biggest massacres” of the conflict.