NDTV Exclusive: Hunted Down, Massacred, Syria's Alawites Ask India For Help

Ali Koshmr, a 36-year-old man from Syria's Latakia, around 330 km from Damascus, woke up to the sounds of gunfire, tires screeching and dozens of armed men shouting, "Come out, you Alawite pigs, Nusayris!" The term 'Nusayri' refers to the followers of Ibn Nusayr, one of the most revered figures of the Alawites, a religious and ethnic minority in Syria. The Alawites make up around 12 per cent of the population and are largely concentrated in the Latakia and Tartus regions of the country. 

Sunni Muslims form around 70-75 per cent of Syria's population. After the fall of Bashar al-Assad, an Alawite himself, the Alawite community is being hunted down. Armed factions have carried out mass killings, home invasions, and forced displacement under the slogan of eradicating the "remnants of the regime."

"Armed men entered the village and reached our house, shouting, 'Come out, you Alawite pigs, Nusayris,'" Mr Koshmr told NDTV. "They broke down the doors and started beating us with weapons, firing bullets randomly. They took my brother, and we have no idea what happened to him. They are exterminating us."

Mr Koshmr himself was stabbed three times - once in the head, once in the back, and once in the stomach. "I was bleeding until the following night when we finally managed to get a vehicle to transport me to the hospital. My condition is stable now," he said.

"There is no sense of safety here," he added. "I don't even know if my family and I will survive for much longer. Our names reveal our Alawite identity. Our dialect betrays us. Even our place of origin puts us at risk."

Renewed Violence

Tensions have flared between Alawites and Sunni militant factions, particularly Wahhabi-backed groups that have entered the region following Assad's ouster last year. These groups are not just targeting former Assad loyalists and ex-military personnel but also civilians, farmers, and religious minorities, including Christians and Shia Muslims. The violence escalated sharply following the killing of Sheikh Shaabaan Mansour, an 86-year-old Alawite religious leader, and his son in Hama province.

Footage have emerged on social media where armed men are carrying out executions in public. NDTV has not independently verified the videos.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 973 civilians have been killed since March 6, including women and children, in what it describes as "ethnic cleansing operations."

"When the civil war broke out in 2011, the people of Latakia and other Alawite-majority areas opened their homes to displaced Syrians, regardless of sect. We did it again in 2020 and 2022. Syrian people don't discriminate - we are all Syrians. But the new government is failing to protect this unity," said Ibrahem Salamah, a 31-year-old computer science engineer from Latakia.

In the past week, a group of 200 fighters, led by former Assad army general Ghiath Dala and field commander Muqdad Fatiha, launched an attack on the forces of Abu Mohammad al-Julani, the leader of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and Syria's de facto ruler. The assault resulted in casualties among al-Julani's forces, prompting his government to mobilise reinforcements.

"There are many who joined al-Julani's forces from different Syrian provinces, and they are massacring the Alawites," 33-year-old Hussain Khalaf from Tartus told NDTV. The violence quickly spread to Jableh, Latakia, Banias, and its countryside, escalating into mass executions, home burnings, and forced displacements.

Entire Families Massacred

There have been reports of foreign fighters from Chechnya, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan, alongside Syrian factions known as al-Amshat and al-Hamzat, who are engaged in the fight. "They killed entire families in Baniyas, Jableh, and Karto," Mr Khalaf said.

Videos have surfaced on Telegram and WhatsApp, showing what appears to be executions and massacres of entire families. In one particular video, a Syrian fighter was seen standing on top of bodies covered in blood. Another showed a man hanging from a crane in what is believed to be a public execution. NDTV has not independently verified these videos. 

"My uncle and aunt were driving from Damascus to Latakia when the violence erupted. Their son, my cousin, works in Dubai and has been trying desperately to contact them. They were forced to take refuge in the mountains near Al-Hwaiz," Mr Salamah told NDTV.

Many Alawite religious leaders have called for peace, but fear is widespread. "Displacement has already begun," he added. "Many are heading into the mountains, but conditions there are brutal, especially in the cold. Others have sought refuge at the Hmeimim Airbase, which is controlled by Russia."

Bloodlines

Mr Salamah comes from a mixed-religion family - his mother is Sunni, his father Alawite, and he has Christian relatives. He told NDTV that Alawites do not oppose the new Syrian government nor seek a return of Assad's rule. "We suffered under Assad, just like all Syrians," he said.

The recent attacks, however, suggest that elements within the new security forces remain unchecked. "There are armed groups operating under the government's knowledge that still refuse to surrender their weapons," he explained.

Several videos being circulated online show bodies piled up after executions. NDTV has not independently verified the videos.

One of the flashpoints occurred in December when a video surfaced online showing the burning of Sheikh Abu Abdullah al-Hussein al-Khasibi's shrine in Aleppo. "Armed men stormed in, killed the shrine's guards, and set the place on fire. When Alawites protested, security forces opened fire, killing one person and injuring others in Homs," Mr Salamah told NDTV.

For Mr Koshmr, there is no doubt about what is happening. "This is an ongoing sectarian cleansing campaign and a full-scale genocide targeting anyone identified as Alawite - whether by religion, dialect, or place of origin," he told NDTV.

He rejected the idea that these killings are solely revenge for the Assad family. "This has nothing to do with the Assad family," he explained. "The people of Syria's coastal region are among the poorest in the country. They are innocent civilians - engineers, doctors, and farmers. Yet, under the pretext of 'hunting down Assad's remnants,' an entire sect is being massacred."

Russian Blame, Indian Appeal

Mr Khalaf believes Russia played a role in the recent violence.

"They encouraged the remnants of the Assad regime to fight back, promising to protect the coast and Alawites, but then abandoned them," he told NDTV. This left Al-Julani with a golden opportunity to commit massacres while Russia claimed to investigate the crimes to protect its geopolitical interests.

"I would like to create a financial donation campaign to help the victims. I ask for help from the Indian government," he added.

In response to mounting reports of massacres, al-Julani or Ahmad al-Sharaa, announced an independent national investigation.

"The President of the Republic decrees the formation of a National Independent Committee for Investigation and Fact-Finding regarding the events that took place on March 6, 2025," a government statement read. The committee, composed of judges and legal experts, has been given 30 days to submit its findings.

Mr Sharaa has vowed "firm and unwavering accountability" for those responsible. However, international observers remain skeptical, given the government's reliance on extremist factions for security.