Syrian Observatory: Three Alawites killed, homes burned in Latakia raids
Shafaq News/ Syrian security forces killed three Alawite men and set fire to homes and vehicles during a violent raid Wednesday night on two villages in the western province of Latakia, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Thursday.
The Observatory described a wave of 'widespread security chaos' that erupted after sudden assaults by General Security units on the villages of Bayt Aana and Al-Daliya, located in the Jableh countryside. In Bayt Aana, security personnel reportedly torched dozens of homes, a school, a commercial center, and a sports club.
Two young men — one of them with special needs — were shot dead during the operation. A third body, belonging to a man from the nearby village of Batmoush, was later discovered with a gunshot wound, likely also killed during the raid. In Al-Daliya, forces burned three homes and detained several young men.
Authorities in Latakia confirmed a 'security operation' had taken place, claiming it targeted individuals involved in an attack on a telecommunications center in Al-Daliya. Officials announced the arrest of 'many of those responsible.'
The raids came just one day after eight Alawites were gunned down at a security checkpoint in Hama, following the earlier discovery of five corpses near Damascus, the Observatory reported.
Since the overthrow of former President Bashar al-Assad late last year, attacks on religious minorities — including Alawites, the sect to which Assad belonged — have posed a growing challenge to the new leadership, despite its promises to safeguard all communities.
In March alone, over 1,700 people, most of them Alawites, were killed in violent outbreaks along the coast. Authorities blamed pro-Assad loyalists for igniting the bloodshed by launching deadly ambushes on security personnel.
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