Syrians describe terror as Alavit families killed in their homes

The temporary leader in Syria appealed for unity, as the killings of violence and revenge continue in areas loyal to the former leader Bashar al -Assad on Sunday.

Hundreds of people have fled their homes in the coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus – the fortresses of Assad's support.

The locals have described scenes of robbery and massacres, including children.

In High Al Cusur, mostly Alavite neighborhood in the coastal city of Banias, residents say that the streets are full of scattered bodies, accumulated and covered with blood. Men of different ages were shot there, witnesses said.

People were too scared to look even through their windows on Friday. The internet connection is unstable, but when they are connected, they learned about the death of their neighbors from Facebook publications.

A man, Ayman Fay, told the BBC that he was rescued from his recent prison. He had posted a video on his Facebook account in August 2023, criticizing Bashar al -Assad for his corrupt rule. He was arrested shortly afterwards and was released only when the Islamist forces led prisoners after Assad's fall last December.

The fighters who attacked the streets of High Al Cusur recognized him, so he was spared from death, but not looting. They took his cars and continued to invade other houses.

“They were unknown. I couldn't identify their identity or language, but they looked like a Uzbek or Chechen,” I told me on the phone.

“There were also some Syrians with them, but not of official security. Some civilians were also among those who committed the murder,” he added.

D -Farez said he saw families killed in their own homes, and women and children covered with blood. Some families ran to their roofs to hide, but were not spared for the bloodshed. “It's horrifying,” he said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Based in the United Kingdom documents more than 740 civilians killed in the coastal cities of Latakia, Jabeh and Banias. Another 300 other members of the security forces and the residues of the Assad regime have been reported to have died in clashes.

The BBC failed to independently check the mortality rate.

D, Fares said things stabilized when the Syrian army and security forces arrived in the town of Banias. They pushed other factions from the city and provided corridors for families to access safe areas, he said.

Ali, another Banias resident who asked us not to use his full name, confirmed the G -N Farres account. Ali, who lived in Kusur with his wife and 14-year-old daughter, fled from home with the assistance of security forces.

“They came to our building. We were too scared that we were just listening to the fire and screams of people in the neighborhood. We learned about the death of sporadic publications on Facebook when we were able to connect. But when they came to our building, we decided we were ready,” he said.

“They were after money. They knocked at the door of the neighbor, taking his car, his money, and all the gold or values ​​he had in his home. But he was not killed.”

Ali and his family were taken from his Sunni neighbors, who follow a different branch of Islam and now remain with them. “We have lived together for years, alavites, Sunnis and Christians. We have never experienced it,” he told me.

“The Sunnis rushed to defend Alavites from the murder, which happened and now the official forces are in the city to restore order.”

Ali said the families were taken to school in a neighborhood, which is mostly Sunni, where they will be protected, while members of the fractions that commit the killings are not removed from Banias.

The violence began on Thursday after Assad's loyalists – who refused to give up weapons – planted security forces around the coastal cities of Latakia and Jabeh, killing dozens of them.

Ghiath Dallah, a former Brigadier General in the Assad Army, has announced a new rebellion against the current government, saying he was setting up the “Military Liberation Council of Syria”.

Some reports suggest that former Assad regime security staff who have refused to give up a weapon form a mountain resistance group.

Fires said that most of the Alawite community dismissed them and accused Daid and other Assad's firm loyalists for violence.

“They take advantage of what is happening.

But others also blame the temporary President Ahmad al -Sharaa, saying that he dismantled the security of Syria, the army and police establishments without a clear strategy to deal with thousands of officers and staff left unemployed.

Some of these persons, especially among the police, had nothing to do with the assassination during the Assad regime. New authorities have also rejected thousands of public officials from their work.

With 90% of the population of Syria, living below the poverty line, and thousands are left without income, this is a fertile foundation for rebellion.

There is a split in Syria for what is happening. The wider community condemns the murder of all civilians and demonstrations are organized in Damascus to mourn death and condemn violence.

But in the last two days there have also been calls for Jihad in different parts of Syria. Residents in Banias said, along with the factions, there were some civilians who were armed and joined for the murder.

The majority Sunnis in Syria has been facing the atrocities in the hands of the Assad regime for the last 13 years. This nourishes sectarian hatred, mainly to the minority of Alavit, where community members are associated with war crimes.

According to human rights groups, there is evidence that Alavit's security staff have participated in the murder and torture of thousands of Syrians, the greater part of whom are Sunni Muslims during the Assad regime.

Those members of the killed forces of the army and security are mostly from the Sunni community, and now some of the Sunni community is calling for revenge, but the president called for peace.

Sharaa, whose Islamist forces removed Assad three months ago, must now balance the safety of all who pursue justice for the crimes of the Assad regime and its supporters.

While he has authority over some of the troops who helped him to power, some factions are obviously beyond his control. These factions also include foreign fighters with a radical Islamist program.

In order to lead Syria to a safe and democratic future, many claim that Sharaa must terminate the presence of all foreign fighters and provide a constitution that protects the rights of all Syrians, regardless of their origin or religion.

As he shows that he works for the legal framework for such a constitution, the control of violent factions and the disposal of foreign fighters will be a major challenge.