Latest news with #Alawite
Shafaq News
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Alawite women targeted in post-Assad chaos
Shafaq News - Damascus The aftermath of Bashar al-Assad's ousting has unleashed a new wave of violence in Syria—this time targeting women of his own sect. Reuters reported that at least 33 Alawite women and girls, ages 16 to 39, have gone missing in 2025 alone, amid the unraveling security situation in al-Assad's coastal strongholds. "Don't wait for her," a chilling voice told the family of 29-year-old Abeer Suleiman, who vanished on May 21 in Safita. Days later, her family received WhatsApp calls demanding $15,000 for her release, warning she would be killed or trafficked if the ransom wasn't paid. Suleiman later managed to say, 'I am not in Syria… all the accents around me are strange,' in a recorded call traced to an Iraqi number. This is not an isolated case. These abductions, which exclusively target Alawite women, coincide with escalating reprisals against the community after al-Assad's fall in December. Armed factions aligned with the transitional government have reportedly killed hundreds of Alawites in the coastal regions since March. Despite widespread online pleas from victims' families, no comparable patterns of disappearances have been reported among other sects. The UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria is now formally investigating the wave of abductions. The rising trend has spotlighted the vulnerability of minority communities during regime transitions and raised urgent questions about state accountability, regional trafficking networks, and sectarian vengeance.
LeMonde
9 hours ago
- Politics
- LeMonde
Four Syrian weddings, a symbol of reconciliation
The floor was strewn with hairpins, and the smell of hair overheated by hairdryers filled the room. Shelves were stacked with faux-diamond crowns. An esthetician danced a few steps to a pop song playing in the background. In early June in this basement beauty salon in an apartment building in Latakia, a city on Syria's northwest coast and former stronghold of the Assad family, four women were preparing to celebrate their respective marriages in a joint ceremony bringing together different religious communities. At the doorway, a man peeked in. In a rush, two of the soon-to-be brides covered their hair and faces in protest. They were Sunni. The other two were Alawite, a branch of Shia Islam with distinct customs and beliefs. "We've been engaged for a year and a half, ever since Achraf's car broke down in front of my house," said Roula Salman, a 27-year-old physics student from Latakia, with a smile. "By marrying this way, we wanted to show that Syria was still united." It was an unprecedented and symbolic choice against a background of tension. On Sunday, June 22, a suicide bombing targeted the Greek Orthodox Mar Elias church in Damascus, killing at least 25 and injuring around 60 Christians gathered there. Precarious calm In March, a wave of massacres mainly targeting the Alawite community – the religious minority to which the Assad clan belongs and which makes up about 10% of Syria's population – left at least 1,700 civilian victims, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Hundreds of videos showing killings and looting flooded social media, implicating extremist armed factions, some of which are affiliated with the new regime led by the interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, a Sunni and former jihadist leader.
The National
10 hours ago
- Politics
- The National
UN commission says Syria must end violence against Alawites and protect places of worship
The head of a UN investigative commission on Friday called commitments made by the new authorities in Syria to protect the rights of minorities 'encouraging' but said attacks have continued on members of the Alawite sect in the months since a major outbreak of sectarian violence on Syria's coast. Paulo Pinheiro, the head of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria, told a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva that the current Syrian government – led by Islamist former insurgents who ousted former Syrian president Bashar Al Assad – had given his team 'unfettered access' to the coast and to witnesses of the violence and victims' families. 'Disturbingly, reports continue to circulate of continuing killings and arbitrary arrests of members of the Alawite community, as well as the confiscation of the property of those who fled the March violence,' he said. Mr Pinheiro's commission also 'documented abductions by unknown individuals of at least six Alawite women this spring in several Syrian governorates', two of whom remain missing, and has received 'credible reports of more abductions', he said. He also called on authorities to put in place more protections for places of worship after Sunday's suicide bombing attack on a church outside of Damascus. The attack, which killed at least 25 people and wounded dozens more, was the first of its kind to take place in the Syrian capital in years. The Syrian government has said that the perpetrators belonged to an ISIS cell and that they thwarted a subsequent attempt to target a Shiite shrine in the Sayyida Zeinab suburb in Damascus. 'Attacks on places of worship are outrageous and unacceptable,' Mr Pinheiro said. 'The authorities must ensure the protection of places of worship and threatened communities and ensure that perpetrators and enablers are held accountable.' Mr Al Assad was deposed in a lightning rebel offensive in December, bringing an end to a nearly 14-year civil war. In March, hundreds of civilians, most of them from the Alawite minority to which Mr Al Assad belongs, were killed in revenge attacks after clashes broke out between pro-Assad armed groups and the new government security forces on the Syrian coast. Mr Pinheiro said his commission had documented scattered 'revenge attacks' that happened before that, including killings in several villages in Hama and Homs provinces in late January in which men who had handed over their weapons under a 'settlement' process set up for former soldiers and members of security forces under Assad, believing that they would be granted an amnesty in exchange for disarmament, were then 'ill-treated and executed". He praised the interim government's formation of a body tasked with investigating the attacks on the coast and said government officials had told his team that 'dozens of alleged perpetrators' were arrested. Mr Pinheiro said the government needs to carry out a 'reform and vetting programme' as it integrates a patchwork of former rebel factions into a new army and security services and enact 'concrete policies to put an end to Syria's entrenched cycles of violence and revenge, in a context where heightened tensions and sectarian divisions have been reignited".
Hamilton Spectator
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
UN commission says Syria must end violence against Alawites and protect places of worship
BEIRUT (AP) — The head of a U.N. investigative commission on Friday called commitments made by the new authorities in Syria to protect the rights of minorities 'encouraging' but said attacks have continued on members of the Alawite sect in the months since a major outbreak of sectarian violence on Syria's coast. Paulo Pinheiro, the head of the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Syria, told a meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva that the current Syrian government — led by Islamist former insurgents who ousted former Syrian President Bashar Assad — had given his team 'unfettered access' to the coast and to witnesses of the violence and victims' families. 'Disturbingly, reports continue to circulate of ongoing killings and arbitrary arrests of members of the Alawite community, as well as the confiscation of the property of those who fled the March violence,' he said. Pinheiro's commission also 'documented abductions by unknown individuals of at least six Alawite women this spring in several Syrian governorates,' two of whom remain missing, and has received 'credible reports of more abductions,' he said. Pinheiro also called on authorities to put in place more protections for places of worship after Sunday's suicide bombing attack on a church outside of Damascus. The attack, which killed at least 25 people and wounded dozens more, was the first of its kind to take place in the Syrian capital in years. The Syrian government has said that the perpetrators belonged to a cell of the Islamic State group and that they thwarted a subsequent attempt to target a Shiite shrine in the Sayyida Zeinab suburb in Damascus. 'Attacks on places of worship are outrageous and unacceptable,' Pinheiro said. 'The authorities must ensure the protection of places of worship and threatened communities and ensure that perpetrators and enablers are held accountable.' Assad was deposed in a lightning rebel offensive in December, bringing an end to a nearly 14-year civil war. In March, hundreds of civilians, most of them from the Alawite minority to which Assad belongs, were killed in revenge attacks after clashes broke out between pro-Assad armed groups and the new government security forces on the Syrian coast. Pinheiro said his commission had documented scattered 'revenge attacks' that happened before that, including killings in several villages in Hama and Homs provinces in late January in which men who had handed over their weapons under a 'settlement' process set up for former soldiers and members of security forces under Assad, believing that they would be granted an amnesty in exchange for disarmament, were then 'ill-treated and executed.' He praised the interim government's formation of a body tasked with investigating the attacks on the coast and said government officials had told his team that 'dozens of alleged perpetrators' were arrested. Pinheiro said the government needs to carry out a 'reform and vetting program' as it integrates a patchwork of former rebel factions into a new army and security services and enact 'concrete policies to put an end to Syria's entrenched cycles of violence and revenge, in a context where heightened tensions and sectarian divisions have been reignited.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Toronto Star
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Toronto Star
UN commission says Syria must end violence against Alawites and protect places of worship
BEIRUT (AP) — The head of a U.N. investigative commission on Friday called commitments made by the new authorities in Syria to protect the rights of minorities 'encouraging' but said attacks have continued on members of the Alawite sect in the months since a major outbreak of sectarian violence on Syria's coast. Paulo Pinheiro, the head of the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Syria, told a meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva that the current Syrian government — led by Islamist former insurgents who ousted former Syrian President Bashar Assad — had given his team 'unfettered access' to the coast and to witnesses of the violence and victims' families.
