More than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, were killed in several days of sectarian violence in Syria’s coastal regions earlier this year, a government committee tasked with investigating the attacks has found.
The committee said it had identified 298 suspects implicated in serious violations during the violence in the country’s Alawite heartland that left at least 1,426 members of the minority community dead in March.
Tuesday’s findings come after a new wave of violence involving the country’s Druze community, raising further questions over the new government’s ability to manage sectarian tensions and maintain security after the December overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad – himself an Alawite.
The March violence took place in a predominantly Alawite region of Syria’s coast, where government forces and allied groups were accused of carrying out summary executions, mostly targeting Alawite civilians, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights saying more than 1,700 people were killed.
The committee’s report said there was no evidence that Syria’s military leadership ordered attacks on the Alawite community.
The committee’s investigation documented “serious violations against civilians on March 7, 8 and 9, including murder, premeditated murder, looting, destruction and burning of homes, torture and sectarian insults”, spokesman Yasser al-Farhan told a news conference in Damascus.
The committee confirmed “the names of 1,426 dead, including 90 women, with most of the rest being civilians” from the Alawite community, he said, adding that an unspecified number of further dead had not been verified.
The investigation also “identified 298 individuals by name” who were suspected of involvement in the violations, al-Farhan continued, describing the figure as provisional.
These have been referred for prosecution, and 37 people have been arrested, officials told journalists.
They didn’t say how many suspects were members of security forces.
‘Bigger than just violations’
Authorities have accused gunmen loyal to al-Assad of instigating the violence, launching deadly attacks that killed dozens of security personnel.
The committee said 238 members of the army and security forces were killed in the attacks in the provinces of Tartous, Latakia and Hama.
About 200,000 pro-government military reinforcements then converged on the area, according to al-Farhan.
Jana Mustafa, a 24-year-old student from Baniyas whose father was killed during the violence, said she had not been waiting for the report “because the truth was clear to me”.
“The number of bodies, the mass graves and the screams of the victims were enough to clarify what happened,” she said, expressing disappointment that the committee’s announcements appeared to include “justifications for everything that happened”.
“The issue is bigger than just violations. It was directed against an entire sect,” she added.
The committee said it based its report on more than 30 on-site visits, meetings with dozens of people in the towns and villages where violations occurred, and testimonies from hundreds of witnesses and victims. It also heard from government officials.
Al-Farhan said the committee had identified people “linked to certain military groups and factions” among those involved in the violence, adding it believed they “violated military orders and are suspected of committing violations against civilians”.
‘Disappointed and frustrated’
Rama Hussein, 22, whose three sisters, two cousins and grandfather were killed in the Jableh region, said she was “sad, disappointed and frustrated” with the committee.
“No one listened to my testimony, no one visited us – I don’t know who this committee met or who they saw,” she said.
“I hope we see real accountability, not just reports and press conferences,” she said, calling for compensation for the families of those killed.
Human rights groups and international organisations have said entire families were killed, including women, children and the elderly.
Gunmen stormed homes and asked residents whether they were Alawite or Sunni before killing or sparing them, they said.
Committee chairman Jumaa al-Anzi said authorities had been consulted to identify individuals who appeared in videos on social media documenting violations, and that some of them were included among the suspects.
The body said two lists of people “suspected of involvement in attacks or violations” had been referred to the judiciary.
Al-Anzi, the committee’s chair, said that “we have no evidence that the [military] leaders gave orders to commit violations”.
The presidency had said new Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa had received the committee’s report on July 13, the same day that sectarian violence erupted in the Druze-majority province of Suwayda.
Those clashes broke out between Sunni Muslim Bedouin clans and Druze armed groups, and government security forces who intervened to restore order.
Druze armed groups launched revenge attacks on Bedouin communities.
Hundreds have been killed, and the United Nations says more than 128,500 people have been displaced. The violence has largely stopped as a ceasefire takes hold.
The committee chair said the violence in Suwayda is “painful for all Syrians” but “beyond the jurisdiction” of his committee.
“Time will reveal what happened and who is responsible for it,” he said.
