Over the weekend, Syria witnessed one of its bloodiest episodes of sectarian violence in recent history, intensifying the already brutal civil war that has ravaged the country for over 14 years. The violence unfolded in the coastal city of Baniyas, where members of the Alawite sect were hunted down and killed by Sunni Muslim gunmen. Among the victims were Samir Haydar’s two brothers, who were taken from their homes and executed by attackers.
For 24 hours, Haydar and his family hid in their apartment, knowing that gunmen were searching for Alawite families like theirs. With the help of a friend, they managed to escape just minutes before the attackers broke into their building and murdered the remaining Alawites. Down the street, Haydar’s two older brothers and his nephew were not as fortunate—they were killed by the gunmen.
“If I had stayed just five minutes longer, I would have been killed along with my entire family,” Haydar, 67, said.
The attacks, which lasted from Friday to Sunday, targeted coastal provinces predominantly populated by Alawites, as well as the surrounding areas of Hama and Homs. Hundreds were killed in a wave of brutal violence. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimates nearly 1,000 civilians died, with about 200 fatalities in Baniyas alone, though the exact numbers could not be verified.
The attackers included both hardline Sunni Islamists and local Sunnis, many of whom were seeking vengeance for past massacres carried out by Assad’s regime, which had previously targeted Sunni civilians. Survivors reported that some of the attackers were members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadist group, while others were local Sunni men driven by long-standing grudges against the Alawites, who are loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.
“We have suffered many injustices, and many of us were waiting for an opportunity to take action,” Haydar explained. “Instead of learning mercy from our pain, it has led to more killings.”
The violence came on the heels of coordinated attacks by Assad loyalists on government forces near Latakia, a stronghold of Assad’s regime. While government forces were eventually sent to restore order, they did not intervene during the height of the violence.
The attacks were particularly devastating for the Alawite community, many of whom feel caught between the brutality of Assad’s regime and the vengeance of their Sunni neighbors. In some villages, gunmen stormed homes, beat residents, and forced them to participate in humiliating rituals. Looting was rampant, and dozens of bodies were left in the streets.
The violence has deepened the rift between Syria’s sectarian groups, fueling an endless cycle of retaliation and further complicating efforts to bring peace to the country. President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s interim government has vowed to investigate the attacks, but the bloodshed threatens to undermine any progress toward reconciliation and inclusion.
For many Alawites, like Haydar and his family, survival has meant fleeing their homes in search of safety. Haydar buried his brothers on Sunday, and while some survivors have sought to document the atrocities, the wounds inflicted by this latest wave of violence may be too deep to heal anytime soon.
Source: https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/syrian-man-barely-escaped-wave-sectarian-killings-brothers-119664569