{"id":15579,"date":"2025-11-26T07:43:43","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T07:43:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/alley-of-death-on-the-syrian-coast\/"},"modified":"2025-11-27T12:46:42","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T12:46:42","slug":"alley-of-death-on-the-syrian-coast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/alley-of-death-on-the-syrian-coast\/","title":{"rendered":"Alley of Death on the Syrian Coast"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A Wave of Panic Sweeps the Coast – The Beginning of the Tragedy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Time feels swollen with pain, and breaking news falls like sparks that never die out.On Thursday, July 2, 2025, security forces loyal to Ahmad Al-Shar\u2019a launched coordinated raids into the coastal governorates of Latakia and Tartus – specifically targeting the village of Sheer in northern Latakia – under the pretext that its residents were remnants of groups loyal to the deposed president, Bashar al-Assad. <\/p>\n\n

Hours pass heavy with stories of thousands of victims – young and old – with nothing reported except the rising number of deaths \u201cbecause they are Alawites.\u201dNo space for mourning, no shrouds worthy of the abandoned bodies, no graves with names or dates.Only grief fills the Syrian coast\u2026 broken occasionally by the mocking laughter of armed men, now turned into a symbol of ruin. <\/p>\n\n

Stories of Executions – \u201cBecause They Were Alawites\u201dThe chain of killings on the Syrian coast begins in Sheer, where unidentified armed groups carried out a massacre officially attributed to \u201cunknown perpetrators.\u201dAccording to Souad Mohammed from Latakia – along with other witnesses who requested anonymity – fighters coming from Idlib and Aleppo, affiliated with the General Security forces, stormed the area and executed around 69 unarmed civilians immediately after overrunning three neighborhoods. <\/p>\n\n

Souad Mohammed (35 Years Old) speaks with tearful eyes:\u201cMy father\u2026 they killed him just because he was Alawite, The killer is someone from my own town, He pointed his gun at my father\u2019s chest and waist.My cousin screamed: \u2018Shoot him, Muhammad!\u2019 They lifted my father, placed him on the couch, and told him: \u2018Say your final prayer, uncle.\u2019He recited it\u2026 then died.I never imagined we would be killed by people from our own village – people who suffered with us under the same regime.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n

Time passes heavy with the stories of thousands of victims , <\/em> Yet all anyone hears is: more deaths, \u201cbecause they are Alawites<\/em><\/pre>\n\n
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights<\/a>, factions loyal to the interim Syrian government carried out widespread atrocities across the coast, with the death toll reaching 1,300 – amid an alarming media blackout and strict bans on filming or reporting, except for \u201capproved\u201d state-aligned outlets. <\/p>\n\n
The chaos soon expanded into systematic looting, home burnings, and multiple kidnappings for ransom – no ransom below 5,000$.Despite the scale of abuses, the interim government continues to describe these violations as \u201cisolated, individual acts.\u201d   <\/p>\n\n
In a report <\/a>released on August 14, 2025, the UN Commission of Inquiry stated that the violence in the region during March was \u201csystematic and widespread,\u201d involving violations that may amount to war crimes.  <\/p>\n\n
Souad continues, her tears interrupting her words: \u201cThe last message I sent my father\u2026 he never replied.It was Ramadan; he was fasting.When he didn\u2019t answer, I thought he was reading the Qur\u2019an like he always did.I never imagined he was lying in a pool of blood – killed by men claiming to represent Islam through their beards and turbans.I feel ashamed to say I\u2019m Syrian\u2026 because if someone abroad asked me, \u2018Who killed your father?\u2019What should I say? Someone from my own country?\u201d    <\/em><\/p>\n\n
Absurdity in Official ReportsSouad says the interim government seized agricultural lands under claims that they were state property or \u201criver protection zones\u201d – lands located along the northern al-Kabir River. <\/p>\n\n
The Alawite community, long marginalized and impoverished under Assad\u2019s rule, depends heavily on farming.But under the new authorities, their suffering doubled. Souad says bitterly:    \u201cThey took our land – the land my father farmed for 60 years.They stole our memories before stealing our soil.Most of the people who remained are elderly, too scared to cross the checkpoints at the village entrance.Some even swim across the river because they fear passing through the armed posts.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n
A presidential decree was issued to form an independent national committee to investigate the crimes – but the committee dismissed the abuses as \u201cindividual violations,\u201d which effectively gave cover for the crimes to spread.  <\/p>\n\n
\u201cA presidential decree formed a \u2018national investigative committee,\u2019yet the committee insisted the violations were merely \u2018individual acts.\u2019\u201d<\/pre>\n\n
Souad asks, her voice cracked with anguish:\u201cWe were raised to love Syria.We never hung Assad\u2019s picture or joined his rallies.My father raised us on patriotism.He was killed because we share a sect with Bashar?So sixty thousand Alawites must pay the price for him?When we were starving, no one asked about us – and now we\u2019re treated as symbols of death?\u201d  <\/em><\/p>\n\n
A Country of Accused CommunitiesSouad now lives in constant fear \u2014 afraid to speak, afraid to step outside. She says:   \u201cI hate belonging to Syria now\u2026 it has become a mark of killing one another.I hate the word \u2018sect\u2019 \u2014 it has turned into a death sentence.Sunnis, Druze, Alawites, Christians\u2026 we are all targets.I want to escape this country\u2026 this land of criminal rulers and feuding sects.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n
How long will the war last? And when will the coast finally know peace?The victims have no voice.Families demand international investigations into the fate of the missing, accountability for factions loyal to the new government, recognition of the crimes, and international guarantees for safety \u2014 to stop the kidnappings, the looting, and to allow journalists and investigators safe access\u2026Above all, they demand a safe return for civilians who fled the violence.**         <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Wave of Panic Sweeps the Coast – The Beginning of the Tragedy Time feels swollen with pain, and breaking news falls like sparks that never die out.On Thursday, July 2, 2025, security forces loyal to Ahmad Al-Shar\u2019a launched coordinated raids into the coastal governorates of Latakia and Tartus – specifically targeting the village of Sheer in northern Latakia – under the pretext that its residents were remnants of groups loyal to the deposed president, Bashar al-Assad. Hours pass heavy with stories of thousands of victims – young and old – with nothing reported except the rising number of deaths \u201cbecause they are Alawites.\u201dNo space for mourning, no shrouds worthy of the abandoned bodies, no graves with names or dates.Only grief fills the Syrian coast\u2026 broken occasionally by the mocking laughter of armed men, now turned into a symbol of ruin. Stories of Executions – \u201cBecause They Were Alawites\u201dThe chain of killings on the Syrian coast begins in Sheer, where unidentified armed groups carried out a massacre officially attributed to \u201cunknown perpetrators.\u201dAccording to Souad Mohammed from Latakia – along with other witnesses who requested anonymity – fighters coming from Idlib and Aleppo, affiliated with the General Security forces, stormed the area and executed around 69 unarmed civilians immediately after overrunning three neighborhoods. Souad Mohammed (35 Years Old) speaks with tearful eyes:\u201cMy father\u2026 they killed him just because he was Alawite, The killer is someone from my own town, He pointed his gun at my father\u2019s chest and waist.My cousin screamed: \u2018Shoot him, Muhammad!\u2019 They lifted my father, placed him on the couch, and told him: \u2018Say your final prayer, uncle.\u2019He recited it\u2026 then died.I never imagined we would be killed by people from our own village – people who suffered with us under the same regime.\u201d Time passes heavy with the stories of thousands of victims , Yet all anyone hears is: more deaths, \u201cbecause they are Alawites According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, factions loyal to the interim Syrian government carried out widespread atrocities across the coast, with the death toll reaching 1,300 – amid an alarming media blackout and strict bans on filming or reporting, except for \u201capproved\u201d state-aligned outlets. The chaos soon expanded into systematic looting, home burnings, and multiple kidnappings for ransom – no ransom below 5,000$.Despite the scale of abuses, the interim government continues to describe these violations as \u201cisolated, individual acts.\u201d In a report released on August 14, 2025, the UN Commission of Inquiry stated that the violence in the region during March was \u201csystematic and widespread,\u201d involving violations that may amount to war crimes. Souad continues, her tears interrupting her words: \u201cThe last message I sent my father\u2026 he never replied.It was Ramadan; he was fasting.When he didn\u2019t answer, I thought he was reading the Qur\u2019an like he always did.I never imagined he was lying in a pool of blood – killed by men claiming to represent Islam through their beards and turbans.I feel ashamed to say I\u2019m Syrian\u2026 because if someone abroad asked me, \u2018Who killed your father?\u2019What should I say? Someone from my own country?\u201d Absurdity in Official ReportsSouad says the interim government seized agricultural lands under claims that they were state property or \u201criver protection zones\u201d – lands located along the northern al-Kabir River. The Alawite community, long marginalized and impoverished under Assad\u2019s rule, depends heavily on farming.But under the new authorities, their suffering doubled. Souad says bitterly: \u201cThey took our land – the land my father farmed for 60 years.They stole our memories before stealing our soil.Most of the people who remained are elderly, too scared to cross the checkpoints at the village entrance.Some even swim across the river because they fear passing through the armed posts.\u201d A presidential decree was issued to form an independent national committee to investigate the crimes – but the committee dismissed the abuses as \u201cindividual violations,\u201d which effectively gave cover for the crimes to spread. \u201cA presidential decree formed a \u2018national investigative committee,\u2019yet the committee insisted the violations were merely \u2018individual acts.\u2019\u201d Souad asks, her voice cracked with anguish:\u201cWe were raised to love Syria.We never hung Assad\u2019s picture or joined his rallies.My father raised us on patriotism.He was killed because we share a sect with Bashar?So sixty thousand Alawites must pay the price for him?When we were starving, no one asked about us – and now we\u2019re treated as symbols of death?\u201d A Country of Accused CommunitiesSouad now lives in constant fear \u2014 afraid to speak, afraid to step outside. She says: \u201cI hate belonging to Syria now\u2026 it has become a mark of killing one another.I hate the word \u2018sect\u2019 \u2014 it has turned into a death sentence.Sunnis, Druze, Alawites, Christians\u2026 we are all targets.I want to escape this country\u2026 this land of criminal rulers and feuding sects.\u201d How long will the war last? And when will the coast finally know peace?The victims have no voice.Families demand international investigations into the fate of the missing, accountability for factions loyal to the new government, recognition of the crimes, and international guarantees for safety \u2014 to stop the kidnappings, the looting, and to allow journalists and investigators safe access\u2026Above all, they demand a safe return for civilians who fled the violence.**<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":15578,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[407,340,339],"tags":[592,595,343,444,593,594,345],"class_list":["post-15579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-maps-of-change","category-blog","category-opinion","tag-conflicts","tag-kidnapping","tag-mental_health","tag-syria-en","tag-the-alawites","tag-the-syrian-coast","tag-women"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":[],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/204-05.jpg",2048,900,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/204-05.jpg",2048,900,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/204-05.jpg",2048,900,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/204-05-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/204-05-300x132.jpg",300,132,true],"large":["https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/204-05-1024x450.jpg",1024,450,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/204-05-1536x675.jpg",1536,675,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/204-05.jpg",2048,900,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"\u0644\u0628\u0646\u0649 \u0623\u062d\u0645\u062f","author_link":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/author\/lubna-ahmad\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"Maps of Change<\/a> Blog<\/a> Opinion<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"A Wave of Panic Sweeps the Coast – The Beginning of the Tragedy Time feels swollen with pain, and breaking news falls like sparks that never die out.On Thursday, July 2, 2025, security forces loyal to Ahmad Al-Shar\u2019a launched coordinated raids into the coastal governorates of Latakia and Tartus – specifically targeting the village of…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15579"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15579\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15580,"href":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15579\/revisions\/15580"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silatwassel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}