Syrian coast 1,400 killed

By Khalil Hamlo, Weedah Hamzah and Johannes Sadek

Damascus (dpa) — A Syrian fact-finding committee on Tuesday confirmed that 1,426 people – mostly civilians, including many Alawites – were killed during a wave of violence in the country’s coastal provinces between March 6 and 9.

According to committee spokesman Yasser al-Farhan, the clashes began when remnants of armed groups linked to toppled dictator Bashar al-Assad launched coordinated attacks on government forces in Latakia, Tartous and Hama, killing 238 army and security personnel.

Among the dead were 90 women, most of them unarmed civilians, the committee said as it presented its findings at a press conference in Damascus.

The attackers were described as organized, unlawful groups loyal to the ousted Assad regime, now operating independently and resisting transitional authorities.

“These groups carried out large-scale assaults on military and security targets, blocked roads, and used heavy and light weapons,” al-Farhan said.

The new government launched a military operation to quash the violence.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based war monitor, estimated at the time that over 1,600 people, mainly from the Alawite minority, to which Assad belonged, had been killed in the unrest.

According to the committee, 550 individuals have been identified as responsible for the attacks and subsequent sectarian violence, though their names remain confidential, with only 31 suspects arrested so far.

More than six months after Assad was toppled by an Islamist-led rebel alliance, violence also continues to rattle southern Syria, where Druze militias are battling Sunni Bedouin tribal groups backed by Damascus.

Although President Ahmad al-Sharaa has pledged to protect minorities, critics accuse his government of carrying out symbolic arrests and limited accountability.

The committee urged the prosecution of fugitive members of Assad’s regime, describing them as ongoing threats to their communities.

It emphasized the need for national dialogue and civil peace, recommending measures to curb incitement to violence through legislation, education and media oversight.

Recommendations also included launching formal victim compensation schemes, reforming security and military institutions, updating equipment and training, and strengthening human rights protections.