Massacre of 1,426 Alawites in March Clashes on Syria’s Coast
The English section of webangah News Agency, citing Mehr News Agency and Al-Mayadeen, reported that the National Fact-Finding and Investigation Committee on the events that occurred along Syria’s coast in March released its final report.
According to reports, this committee, affiliated with Syria’s ruling regime, based its conclusions on conjecture rather than definitive evidence typically required in court. To avoid potential harm, it withheld suspects’ names.
Yasser Al-farhan, a member of the fact-finding committee, stated at a press conference on Tuesday that although findings were ready earlier, recent incidents in As-Suwayda delayed their release.
Al-Farhan added that the committee interviewed witnesses from Latakia and Tartus provinces. Their investigation relied heavily on monitoring and documentation; they recorded 930 witness testimonies related to coastal events. The team visited 33 sites to inspect locations where violations occurred. Additionally, they gathered 450 testimonies concerning killings and 486 regarding armed threats and torture.
He asserted that ”remnants of Bashar al-assad’s regime seized control over villages and towns along Syria’s coast with intentions to establish an Alawite state.” These elements reportedly aimed to isolate and dominate the coastal region separate from other syrian provinces.
According to Al-Farhan, “Following these events, 200,000 members of armed groups moved toward the coast seeking to reclaim it from regime remnants. During this operation, killings and abuses took place.” Investigations confirmed the deaths of 1,426 peopel, including women and former military personnel who had cleared their status.
The committee member further alleged that despite widespread human rights violations linked to Jolani’s forces,” these breaches were not organized systematically; some perpetrators formed looting gangs motivated by revenge rather than ideology.” The report documented names of 298 individuals whose rights violations were verified.
he said the Syrian government was advised to develop programs for compensating victims’ losses and legally pursuing those evading justice.
