Dozens of Alawite women and girls have gone missing across Syria since March, raising fears of a targeted campaign of abductions following the fall of President Bashar Assad. A Reuters report published on Friday noted at least 33 such disappearances, most of which occurred in the governorates of Tartous, Latakia, and Hama—regions home to large populations of Alawites, the minority Muslim sect to which Assad and many of his collaborators belong.
The wave of abductions appears to have followed a brutal backlash against Alawite civilians, including mass killings by armed groups aligned with the new Sunni-led interim government, which includes former rebels and foreign fighters. Families of the missing have received ransom demands ranging from $1,500 to $100,000, and some abductees have made brief, desperate calls from unfamiliar places—often with foreign accents in the background—indicating they may have been trafficked out of the country.
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A May 2025 report by the Washington-based Syria Justice and Accountability Center found that “some Syrians still view all Alawites as involved with the Assad regime and complicit in the regime’s actions earlier in the conflict.”
The UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria confirmed it is investigating multiple disappearances, citing credible reports of kidnappings. In several cases reviewed by Reuters, abductees were taken in broad daylight while doing routine tasks like walking to school or shopping.
Syrian officials downplayed the pattern, attributing the disappearances to elopements or family disputes—claims families dispute.