As Alawites mark one year since the massacres in Syria’s coastal regions, residents of Baniyas say fear persists, wounds remain unhealed and political demands unmet.
The first trial of hundreds of suspects accused of involvement in killings in Alawite-majority areas of the Syrian coast marks the start of a closely watched and unprecedented accountability process.
Former regime soldiers say the demobilization process launched when Assad fell has stalled, leaving many in hiding and without civilian IDs—only expired “settlement cards” they fear put a target on their backs.
Massive wildfires that swept through Syria’s coastal forests in Latakia have been largely contained, but their impact—and the lessons learned—will be long-lasting.
Thousands of Alawites have fled to Lebanon following sectarian killings on the Syrian coast. Local residents are springing into action, while some fear a spillover of violence.
A tense calm hangs over Jableh, while sectarian tensions remain following extrajudicial killings and property destruction during confrontations between pro-Assad fighters and government forces in the diverse coastal city.
After two days of bloodshed that killed hundreds, Syria’s Ministry of Defense halted military operations on the coast against forces loyal to the deposed Assad regime on Saturday pending the removal of “unaffiliated forces” from the area.
Since the Assad regime fell, repeated local and international calls for the new government in Damascus to provide guarantees for Syria’s ethnic and religious minorities have sparked controversy and fueled hate speech.
When Suwayda’s protest movement began in August 2023, it met with echoes on the Syrian coast, where “a chorus of individual voices” openly criticized the regime from a region considered Assad’s base. But while Suwayda’s uprising continues, the voice of the coast has waned. Why?
A landmark torture case brought against Syria by Canada and the Netherlands began at the UN’s highest court on Tuesday—with Damascus absent. While it is not a criminal case, torture survivors and family members of Syria’s disappeared say it marks another milestone in their long, slow fight for accountability.
