Dozens of Syrian families from the Alawite minority were forced to leave their neighborhood near Damascus following threats from armed men, residents told AFP on Saturday.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), an armed group entered the Soumariya district, west of Damascus, on Thursday and pushed Alawite residents out of their homes, sometimes using force.
Alawite-born President Bashar al-Assad was overthrown in December 2024 by a coalition of Sunni Islamist rebel groups led by Ahmad al-Chareh, now serving as Syria’s interim president.
In March, clashes between security forces and pro-Assad fighters in western Syria left over 1,700 dead, mostly Alawites, according to SOHR.
In recent months, armed factions have threatened residents in several Alawite-majority neighborhoods on the outskirts of the capital to force them to leave.
“Armed men, some masked, others dressed in black like security forces, ordered us to leave our homes or be killed,” an Alawite student, who spoke anonymously to AFP, said. “We gathered what we could and left today, not knowing where to go.”
Mazhar Chair, the municipal official of Soumariya, sought to reassure residents, saying, “The situation has stabilized; they should stay in their homes. A commission is monitoring any rights violations, and residents will see the difference in the coming hours.”
However, no residents had returned immediately, according to locals.
SOHR reported that armed men “used electric batons to force residents out, causing fear and chaos. Some left; others remain trapped with nowhere to go.”
The targeted neighborhoods were established by the former regime on arid land, sometimes seized by force, and house thousands of residents, including former officers.
State media did not report the incident, though Syria Television, aligned with the Islamist authorities, stated that residents had been informed by officials that they could return following interventions by local committees and the High Commission for Civil Peace.
Youssef, a 39-year-old Alawite, said his family left for their hometown in the Homs region on Saturday. “The threats are visible on the ground; the promises only on social media. We’re too afraid to risk our lives; I have children and fear for their safety,” he said.
AFP
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