Reuters Special Report | Syrian Coast Massacres: 1,500 Alawites Killed in Three Days — Chain of Command Leads to Damascus

A Reuters investigation has revealed that Syrian forces loyal to the new government — backed by Islamic militias and former HTS fighters — carried out mass killings of more than 1,500 Alawite civilians in Syria's coastal provinces, including Latakia and Tartous, between March 7 and 9. The massacres followed an armed rebellion by former loyalists of ousted President Bashar al-Assad, which — according to authorities — killed more than 200 members of the new security forces.

The investigation, based on more than 200 interviews with victims' families, testimonies from field commanders, security officers, former opposition fighters, written documents, victim lists, videos, and confidential correspondence between Defense Ministry officials, traced the chain of command that led to the massacres and linked it directly to senior officials now serving the new government in Damascus.

Context of the Massacres
According to the investigation, the massacres came as retaliation for an uprising led by former officers of the Republican Guard, the Fourth Division, and Air Force Intelligence who rejected the legitimacy of the new regime. As the rebellion spread, orders were issued from senior military leaders — some of whom had recently joined the new government — to crush what they called "fuloul" (remnants of the Assad regime). However, hardline fighters interpreted the word to mean "anyone who is Alawite," especially in villages known for their former loyalty to the regime.

A Horrific Crime in Rasafa
In the town of Rasafa, one of the most horrific crimes was recorded. 25-year-old Suleiman Rashid Saad was brutally killed — the gunmen sliced open his chest, ripped out his heart, and placed it on top of his body. The killers called his father from his mobile phone and mockingly told him: "His body is next to the barbershop… come and get it if you can." His name was number 56 on a list of 60 killed from his village, including children, neighbors, and relatives.

Those Involved
According to Reuters, security and military units participated in carrying out the killings, most notably:
• The General Security Service of the new government, a security extension of the former body that administered Idlib province.
• Unit 400, a former elite HTS fighting unit.
• The Othman Brigade, an armed Islamist faction belonging to the Salafi-jihadist current.
• The Sultan Suleiman Shah Division and the Hamza Division, two armed groups formerly backed by Turkey and subject to European sanctions for violations in northern Syria.

Despite many of these factions being internationally classified as human rights violators, no sanctions from the United States or the European Union have been imposed on those involved in the recent coastal massacres.

The New Government's Position
Syria's new president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, who took power after the collapse of the Assad regime, condemned the violence in an interview with Reuters, describing it as "a threat to Syria's unity and the path of justice." He affirmed that no one involved would be immune from accountability, even if they were "among those closest to him."

"We fought to defend the oppressed, and we will not accept that any blood be shed unjustly, or goes without punishment," al-Sharaa said.

Al-Sharaa ordered the formation of a national investigation committee, headed by legal adviser Yasser Farhan, which began hearing testimonies from more than a thousand survivors and victims' families, in addition to reviewing security reports and interrogating dozens detained in connection with the massacres. Farhan said the committee would submit its final report to the president within two weeks, and asked Reuters to delay publishing its findings to preserve "the integrity of the process and responsible truth-telling."

Divergent Responses
While Tartous governor Ahmad al-Shami insisted that "the Alawite sect is not being targeted," he acknowledged what he described as "unacceptable violations" in which at least 350 Alawites were killed in his province alone — a figure the government had not previously disclosed.

"The Alawites suffered under Assad just as the rest of Syrians did, and they are not targeted by official decisions," al-Shami said, adding: "We are committed to providing protection for all sects, especially after this chaos."

Meanwhile, the European Union offered no explanation for not sanctioning former HTS units, while the U.S. State and Treasury Departments declined to comment on the investigation's findings.

International Warnings and Internal Doubts
Analysts warn that the international community's failure to respond to these massacres risks reproducing cycles of sectarian reprisal in Syria. Syrian activists have also expressed fears that slogans of "justice" and "liberation" are being used as cover for widespread violations, especially given the continuing campaigns of arrests, killings, and sectarian liquidation in some coastal villages to this day.