Syrian President Grants Extension for Probe Into Mass Killing of Alawites
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has granted a three-month extension to a fact-finding committee investigating the mass killing of Alawite civilians along Syria’s western coast in early March, the deadliest sectarian violence since rebel fighters seized control of the country. The extension, reported by Reuters on Friday, comes after the committee requested more time to complete interviews and gather evidence in coastal cities where the attacks occurred.
The killings, which began on March 7, targeted Alawite Syrians—members of a religious minority linked to the former regime of Bashar Assad. Witnesses and social media videos suggest that armed men affiliated with the current government executed unarmed civilians, including women and children, based on their religious identity. Around 2,000 people are thought to have been killed since the violence broke out last month.
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The Alawites, a Shiite offshoot, are Syria’s second-largest religious group after Sunni Muslims.
Al-Sharaa formed the committee on March 9, giving it 30 days to identify those responsible. He has blamed remnants of the regime for the violence and said that the committee will make a ruling as to whether the current defense ministry was involved in the killings.
International observers and human rights advocates have urged transparency. Last month, the UN Security Council called on Syria’s authorities to hold accountable those who committed the violence and prevent further flare-ups. It called for “swift, transparent, independent, impartial, and comprehensive investigations to ensure accountability and bring all perpetrators of violence against civilians to justice.”
