SYRIA – MARCH 7, 2025 Syrian General Security, composed of multiple militant groups belonging to Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), launched an attack on the two coastal cities of Syria – Tartous and Latakia. These cities are home to a significant portion of Syria’s Alawite population, a minority religious group.
The newly empowered HTS forces carried out a brutal massacre, killing over a thousand Alawite civilians, including women, the elderly, and children. Victims were subjected to severe humiliation, forced to bark like animals, tortured, and executed – either on the spot or after being gathered in large numbers. The perpetrators filmed themselves committing these atrocities.
The militants responsible for these heinous acts were Sunni extremists with deep-seated hatred toward religious minorities. Among them were fighters from Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, who had been fighting for HTS for years.
