World
Who Are The Alawites, Why Are They Being Hunted Down And Killed In Syria?
New Delhi:
With Bashar al-Assad’s departure, the fate of Syria’s Alawite community remains precarious. Once empowered by the regime, many Alawites now face reprisals from rebel factions and displaced Sunni populations who suffered under Assad’s rule. Revenge attacks have already killed over 1,000 people, including hundreds of Alawites, as power dynamics in Syria shift violently. The violence is among the deadliest since Syria’s conflict began 14 years ago.
According to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), 745 civilians-mostly shot at close range-were among the dead. Another 125 government security personnel and 148 militants linked to Assad-affiliated armed groups were also killed. The fighting has left large parts of Latakia without electricity and drinking water.
SOHR reported that Syrian security forces executed at least 162 Alawites in “field executions” in Latakia province, a stronghold of Assad, who belongs to the sect. The Syrian Interior Ministry acknowledged “individual violations” along the coast and vowed to take action.
The clashes, which erupted Thursday, are a major challenge to Syria’s new rulers, who took power three months ago after removing Assad. The government claims it was responding to attacks from remnants of Assad’s forces and downplayed the killings as isolated incidents.
Who Are The Alawites?
The Alawites are a religious minority in Syria, constituting about 12 per cent of the population. Originating from Shia Islam, they have distinct beliefs and rituals. Historically, the Alawites have been concentrated in Syria’s coastal regions, especially in Latakia and Tartus provinces.
The Assad family, which ruled Syria for over five decades until December 2024, belongs to the Alawite sect. During their rule, Alawites held significant positions in the military and government, leading to perceptions of preferential treatment.
Why Are They Being Killed?
After Assad’s ousting, armed Sunni factions, reportedly loyal to the new government, launched revenge killings against Alawites, further deepening Syria’s sectarian divide. This escalation threatens the authority of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the hardline Sunni faction that played a central role in removing Assad from power.
For decades, Alawites formed the backbone of Assad’s support base. Now, they are facing deadly reprisals. Eyewitnesses described harrowing scenes in Alawite villages, where gunmen executed civilians, most of them men, either in the streets or at their doorsteps. Homes were looted and torched, forcing thousands to flee to the nearby mountains.
Baniyas, one of the worst-hit towns, has witnessed some of the most brutal attacks. Residents reported seeing bodies strewn on the streets and abandoned on rooftops. In some cases, gunmen prevented locals from collecting the bodies of their neighbours for hours.
Ali Sheha, a 57-year-old resident who fled with his family, described a massacre in his neighborhood, where at least 20 Alawites were killed. Some were executed in their shops, others inside their homes.
“It was very very bad. Bodies were on the streets,” Sheha recounted via phone from a nearby town. The gunmen were firing at random people, asking for IDs to check people’s sect before killing them, Sheha said.
International Reactions
France has expressed “deep concern” over the ongoing violence, strongly condemning atrocities committed on religious grounds. In a statement on Saturday, the French Foreign Ministry urged Syria’s interim government to ensure independent investigations into the mass killings.
New Delhi:
As he embarks on a two-day trip to Mauritius, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the visit will open a “new and bright” chapter in the ties between the two nations.
PM Modi is visiting Mauritius on March 11 and 12 at the invitation of Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam primarily to grace the island nation’s national day celebrations.
In his departure statement, the prime minister said he was looking forward to engaging with the leadership of Mauritius to elevate “our partnership in all its facets and strengthen our enduring friendship for the progress and prosperity of our peoples”.
A contingent of Indian armed forces will participate in the celebrations along with a warship of the Indian Navy and the Akash Ganga skydiving team of the Indian Air Force.
“Mauritius is a close maritime neighbour, a key partner in the Indian Ocean, and a gateway to the African Continent. We are connected by history, geography and culture,” PM Modi said.
“Deep mutual trust, a shared belief in the values of democracy, and celebration of our diversity are our strengths,” he said.
The prime minister said the close and historical people-to-people connection between the two sides is a source of shared pride.
“I am confident that this visit will build on the foundations of the past and open a new and bright chapter in the India and Mauritius relationship,” he said.
The prime minister noted that “significant strides” have been made in the past 10 years between the two sides with people centric initiatives.
“I look forward to the opportunity to engage with the Mauritius leadership to elevate our partnership in all its facets and strengthen our enduring friendship for the progress and prosperity of our peoples, as well as for security and development in the Indian Ocean Region, as part of our vision SAGAR,” he added.
SAGAR stands for Security And Growth for All in the Region.
The national day celebrations of Mauritius will be on March 12.
India and Mauritius have uniquely close cooperation in maritime security, development, capacity-building, besides close people-to-people ties. The close bonds are especially evident in the numerous India-assisted development projects that dot the Mauritian landscape.
India is amongst the largest trading partners of Mauritius.
Mauritius was the second largest source of FDI into India for 2023-24, after Singapore.
Mauritius and India signed a comprehensive economic cooperation and partnership agreement (CECPA) in February 2021 after nearly 15 years of negotiations. It was the first trade agreement signed by India with an African country.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Elon Musk said X (formerly Twitter) was hit by a massive cyberattack on Monday, suggesting that a large, coordinated group or even a nation-state could be behind it. The attack led to three outages throughout the day, each lasting nearly an hour.
“There was (still is) a massive cyberattack against X. We get attacked every day, but this was done with a lot of resources. Either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved. Tracing…,” Elon Musk posted on X.
There was (still is) a massive cyberattack against 𝕏.
We get attacked every day, but this was done with a lot of resources. Either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved.
Tracing … https://t.co/aZSO1a92no
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 10, 2025
According to Downdetector, the platform faced three outages throughout the day, with interruptions peaking around 3:00 pm with nearly 2,200 reports from Indian users, surging again at 7:30 pm with 1,500 reports, and continuing later around 9:00 pm as users faced further access issues.
Elon Musk acquired X in 2022 for $44 billion. In 2023, he became the first person to reach 200 million followers on X.
The tracking website showed that nearly 52 percent of problems were related to the website, 41 percent to the app and 8 percent had to do with server connection problems.
Washington, DC:
The US Secret Service shot a man near the White House in Washington, DC shortly after midnight on Sunday (local time) after an “armed confrontation” with law enforcement. President Donald Trump was in Florida at the time of the shooting.
The incident happened about a block from the White House, on the west side of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. The man was reportedly “suicidal” and is believed to be traveling from Indiana.
The Secret Service received information from local police about an alleged “suicidal individual” who was traveling from Indiana and found the man’s car and a person matching his description nearby, according to a report by Associated Press.
“As officers approached, the individual brandished a firearm and an armed confrontation ensued, during which shots were fired by our personnel,” the Secret Service said in a statement.
The man was hospitalized. The Secret Service said his condition was “unknown.”
No one else was injured in the shooting that happened around midnight about a block from the White House, according to a Secret Service statement.
The Metropolitan Police Department will investigate because the shooting involved law enforcement officers. A message left Sunday for the police department wasn’t immediately returned.
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