• Source:JND
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The coastal city of Baniyas, a stronghold of the Alawite community, has been engulfed in the worst violence since former President Bashar al-Assad was ousted in December. More than 1,000 people have died in clashes after violence erupted between government supporters and those loyal to the former president, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

For two days, Rihab Kamel and her family hid in their bathroom, terrified, as armed men stormed their neighborhood in Baniyas, targeting Syria’s Alawite minority. “We turned off the lights and hid. When we were able to flee our neighborhood of Al-Qusour, we found the roads full of corpses,” Kamel told AFP. “What crime did the children commit? Are they also supporters of the (toppled) regime?”

ODeadliest Episodes In Syria’s Conflict

The number of deaths reported by SOHR makes these two days of violence some of the deadliest since Syria’s conflict began 14 years ago. On Friday, Sunni Muslim gunmen loyal to the government began revenge killings against members of Assad’s minority Alawite sect, according to residents in the region.

“They forcibly brought people down to the streets, then they lined them up and started shooting them,” said one resident of Baniyasin, a town on Syria’s west coast. “They left nobody. They left nobody at all. The scene that I saw was pure horror; it’s just indescribable.”

The man, who Sky News did not name for his safety, described women being forced to "walk naked" before being shot and a teenage boy being handed a rifle and forced to shoot his family.

Widespread Killings And Destruction

According to SOHR, electricity and drinking water were cut off in large areas around the city of Latakia, leaving thousands without essential supplies. Other residents from Alawite communities told the Associated Press that gunmen were shooting Alawites—mostly men—in the streets or at the gates of their homes.

Eyewitnesses reported that many homes were looted and then set on fire. Two residents from Syria’s coastal region spoke to AP from their hideouts, describing scenes of devastation and fear.

Violence Subsides, But Uncertainty Remains

The revenge killings stopped early on Saturday, according to SOHR’s founder, Rami Abdurrahman. However, the attacks have left the Alawite community in shock and fear, with many uncertain about what comes next.