The Alawites in Syria 

Map of Syria with Alawite population indicated in green. Image courtesy of NordNordWest and Supreme Deliciousness is modified and licensed under CC BY-SA 1.0.

Who 

The Alawites are a religious minority who live along Syria’s coast.[1] They belong to a heterodox branch of Shia Islam and are the second-largest religious community in Syria, following Sunni Muslims.[2] The Alawites make up between 10% and 15% of the Syrian population.

From 1971 to 2024, the Alawites dominated the Syrian government.[3] Two of Syria’s former presidents, Hafez al-Assad and Bashar al-Assad, were both Alawites. Under the al-Assad regimes, Alawites were regularly recruited into army and security positions.[4] Since members of the Alawite community populated various governmental positions under the last administration, they have been at the forefront of the ongoing Syrian civil war, which began in 2011 with pro-democracy protests against the Assad regime. More than half a million people have been killed,[5] while 7.4 million people remain internally displaced and another 6 million people have fled the country, creating a massive refugee crisis.[6]

What 

On March 6, 2025, armed groups loyal to al-Assad attacked security and military sites along Syria’s coast. The al-Assad loyalists killed hundreds of civilians and security forces. In response, the Syrian government deployed the country’s new security forces to tame the unrest.[7] The new Syrian government announced it had control over the previously affected areas on March 8, 2025, but decentralized militias affiliated with the government intentionally massacred Alawites in the days that followed.[8] In the coastal city of Banias, 100 Syrians were killed between March 8 and 9. Amnesty International investigated 32 of the murders and concluded they were the result of a deliberate attack on the Alawite community.[9] According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 2,089 Syrians (including 1,557 civilians) have been killed since the leaders of the new Syrian government launched its counter-offensive against the al-Assad loyalists.[10]

Response 

On March 9, 2025, Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria’s new president, announced that the government will establish fact-finding committees to investigate the various massacres. Since then, the fact-finding committees have begun analyzing videotapes of the massacres and interviewing victims’ families. Originally, the fact-finding committees were tasked to produce a report within 30 days that would identify and lead to the prosecution of the perpetrators. On April 10, 2025, the Syrian government granted a three-month extension to the fact-finding committees.[11] Few gunmen belonging to the rogue militias have been arrested by the Syrian government. Syrian officials blamed al-Assad loyalists for the massacres.  

Meanwhile, government officials from the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States demand justice for the victims. U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce stated that a modification of U.S. policy toward Syria is dependent on how the new Syrian government treats the massacres and its minority population at large.[12] 

Written by Richard McDaniel, April 2025.

References

[1] Sky News. (2025, March 17). Who are the Alawites facing a new wave of violence in Syria? Sky News. https://news.sky.com/story/who-are-the-alawites-facing-a-new-wave-of-violence-in-syria-13330828 

[2] Alpert, E. (2012, February 8). What does it mean to be Alawite, and why does it matter in Syria? The Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/world-now/story/2012-02-07/what-does-it-mean-to-be-alawite-and-why-does-it-matter-in-syria 

[3] Britannica. (2025, April 11). Alawite. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Alawite 

[4] Reuters. (2025, March 10). What’s driving killings in Syria and who are the Alawites? Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/what-is-driving-bloodshed-syria-2025-03-10/ 

[5] Baker, A. (2024, December 11). How Many People Have Died in Syria’s Civil War? The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/11/world/middleeast/syria-civil-war-death-toll.html 

[6] USA for UNHCR. (2025, March 13). Syria Refugee Crisis Explained. USA for UNHCR. www.unrefugees.org/news/syria-refugee-crisis-explained/ 

[7] Nashed, M. (2025, March 20). ‘Don’t trust anyone’: Have Syria’s Alawites lost faith in new government? Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2025/3/20/dont-trust-anyone-are-syrias-alawis-losing-faith-in-the-new-government 

[8] Ward, E. (2025, March 12). Syria Violence Marked by Sectarian and Revenge Killings, War Monitor Says. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/12/world/europe/syria-alawite-killings-human-rights.html 

[9] Amnesty International. (2025, April 3). Syria: Coastal massacres of Alawite civilians must be investigated as war crimes. Amnesty International. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/04/syria-coastal-massacres-of-alawite-civilians-must-be-investigated-as-war-crimes/ 

[10] The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. (2025, March 17). As more massacres documented | The number of people killed during security operations in Syrian coastline exceeds 2,000. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. https://www.syriahr.com/en/357944/ 

[11] Al Jazeera. (2025, April 11). Syria’s al-Sharaa extends deadline for investigation into coastal killings. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/11/syrias-al-sharaa-extends-deadline-for-investigation-into-coastal-killings 

[12] Bulos, N. (2025, April 5). ‘There was blood everywhere.’ Sectarian killings ravage Syrian villages. The Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2025-04-05/alawite-massacres