10+ Alawites dead: Civilian killings on the rise in Syria's Homs

Shafaq News/ Nearly a dozen Alawite civilians were killed in the Syrian city of Homs within the past 24 hours during raids carried out by an armed group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on Friday.

The UK-based monitor said the 11 victims included university students – three who "died under torture after being detained."

The Observatory noted a recent uptick in killings and abuses across Homs, attributing the trend to “widespread lawlessness and lack of accountability.”

The security situation deteriorated further after deadly violence along Syria’s coast last month, when more than 1,700 people—mostly Alawites—were killed between March 6 and 8 in coastal cities, in what SOHR described as the “bloodiest 72 hours in Syria’s modern history.”

Authorities at the time accused pro-government militias loyal to former President Bashar al-Assad of initiating the coastal violence by launching deadly attacks on rival factions. The government later deployed military reinforcements to Alawite-majority areas.