In the coastal town of Baniyas, Syria, the Haydar family lived an unimaginable nightmare. As gunmen hunted in their hometown targeting Syria’s minority Alawite sect, to which they belonged, the family found themselves confined within their home. Their timely escape, orchestrated by a friend, was a lifesaver. Moments later, the gunmen, predominantly Sunni Muslims, stormed into their building, ending the lives of the Alawites trapped inside. This terrifying scene unfolded on the street where Haydar’s family resided. Tragically, two of Haydar’s eldest brothers and a nephew were also brutally murdered after being pulled from their homes.
“If I had stayed five minutes longer, I with my entire family would have been killed,” Samir Haydar recounted, reflecting on the narrow escape that spared him, his wife, and their sons. The recent weekend marked one of the bloodiest 72 hours in Syria’s turbulent history post-civil conflict, casting shadows of a vicious cycle of revenge.
Within these tumultuous hours stretched from Friday through to Sunday night, rampant violence enveloped regions steeped in Alawite presence. Attackers, many described as hardline Sunni Islamists, surged into strategically situated provinces like Hama and Homs, executing residents within their homes, on streets, and rooftops. Haydar fled with his family as Sunna forces closed in, leaving devastation in their wake. Reports from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimate nearly a thousand civilian casualties, with Baniyas witnessing 200 deaths alone. Independent confirmation of these figures remains elusive.
Eyewitnesses identified some attackers as foreign fighters, jihadists previously allied with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. This group had disbanded after overthrowing Syria’s former autocrat, Bashar Assad, who was of Alawite descent. Local Sunnis, fueled by lasting enmity and recollections of past atrocities committed by Assad’s loyalists, partook in the violence. Survivors in Baniyas acknowledged the attackers included Syrians from nearby villages, seeking reprisal for attacks on their communities, including the 2013 Beyda massacre where hundreds of Sunnis were slain.
In Syria’s complex ethnic and sectarian tapestry, Assad’s security entities were predominantly Alawite, engendering a legacy of collective blame among some Sunnis for the Alawite community, though many Alawites themselves faced impoverishment and repression under Assad’s rule.
As violence peaked, government reinforcements restored a semblance of order by late Monday after a lethargic initial response. An investigative committee was established to probe the incident. Nonetheless, the brutality threatened to derail interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s efforts to incorporate minority groups as equals in post-Assad Syria.
The unrest began when alleged Assad loyalists launched coordinated attacks on security personnel near Latakia, fueling unrest across coastal regions. Residents recounted the harrowing Friday morning influx of armed Sunnis into Baniyas. They described being forced from their homes, subjected to intense humiliation, and some were even killed.
Amidst the chaos, looting plagued these communities. Haydar witnessed violence firsthand as fighters assaulted a neighbor, ensuring he was dead. Around noon, peril struck Haydar’s other brother, Iskander, and his son Mourad, both taken by gunmen. Mourad, miraculously unharmed, later recounted the ordeal where fighters executed the group in cold blood.
Similar accounts of devastating losses echoed through the narratives of survivors like Ali Sheha, a resident who fled as fighters reignited terror in their refuge. Many Alawites like Sheha believed their community could not bear responsibility for Assad’s crimes, highlighting their suffering under his regime.
As families continued to reel from their losses, the humanitarian crisis deepened. Mourners buried loved ones, and civilians, including Sheha, persisted in their fear-driven displacement. As darkness fell, they found shelter in nearby villages and amidst olive and pine trees, their trust shattered.
The fracturing of Syria’s social fabric appeared more profound than ever, with survivors like Sheha remarking on the deep-seated mistrust and fear that plagued the community. The letter of inclusion and fairness that interim leaders proposed seemed far-fetched against the backdrop of such atrocities, ensuring that terror was an enduring visitor in the lives of those touched by the weekend’s violence.
