The massacres against the Alawite civilian population, carried out by HTS jihadists, continue unabated in Syria's coastal regions. Since Thursday, over a thousand civilians have been killed, prompting the Democratic Islam Congress to call for international intervention. 

In Syria’s coastal regions, the massacres against the Alawite civilian population, raging since Thursday, show no signs of stopping. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on Monday that over a thousand civilians have been killed by government forces. The majority of casualties occurred in Latakia, followed by Tartus further south. Executions of Alawites have also been reported in Homs and Hama. Among the victims are many women, children, and elderly people. 

HTS showed its true face

According to Mela Mihemed Xerzî, co-chair of the Democratic Islam Congress (DÎK) in the Autonomous Administration of Northern and Eastern Syria, the massacres of Alawites expose the true nature of the so-called "transitional government" led by the jihadist coalition Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Xerzî said that promises of a united and inclusive Syria are empty rhetoric, and that the new rulers in Damascus aim to establish an Islamist-centralist regime that disregards the rights of religious and ethnic minorities. 

"The Assad regime was Baathist, not Alawite" 

The Muslim cleric said that "the bloodshed must stop immediately, and those responsible must be held accountable," and pointed out that the first executions of Alawites took place as early as December, when HTS seized power. He suggested that these massacres may be acts of revenge, as ousted President Bashar al-Assad belongs to this religious minority. However, he emphasized: "The Assad regime was a Baathist regime, not an Alawite one." There is no justification for punishing and persecuting members of the Alawite minority simply because the Assad family, which brutally ruled Syria for over 50 years, comes from that community. Bashar al-Assad is of Alawite faith, certainly. But his political and military bureaucracy was predominantly Sunni."

The cleric said that claims that Alawites benefited from Assad's dictatorship are unfounded. Unless they were part of the small elite surrounding the former ruling family, Alawites suffered the same hardships as the rest of the Syrian population. He added: "They paid the same price as everyone else who was considered an enemy of the repressive Baath dictatorship. Yet the new rulers are continuing this course with even greater brutality." 

"The new rulers bring only death and occupation"

According to Xerzî, the HTS’s authoritarian rule hardly differs from that of the Assad regime. It creates an atmosphere of fear, where those of different faiths are branded as apostates and thus fair game. Xerzî said: "If this terror is not stopped, the massacres currently being carried out against Alawites will soon spread to other population groups in Syria. In fact, Syria is heading toward another battlefield - without unity and without a future."

Islam as a plea for coexistence

The cleric referred to the Quran to expose the HTS ideologues' attacks as un-Islamic: "The Quran clearly states that God created different peoples and cultures so that they may know each other, not to fight one another." Violence against people of different faiths is not compatible with Islamic teachings. "Syria is a land of diversity—Alawites, Druze, Sunnis, Christians, Ismailis, and Yazidis all belong here. No one has the right to commit massacres or legitimize oppression in the name of religion," Xerzî stressed. 

Call for international intervention

Xerzî appealed to the international community to intervene immediately to stop the massacres of Alawites and hold the perpetrators accountable. Only a decisive response can prevent Syria from descending into even deeper chaos. "The world must not remain silent while genocide is taking place," he said.