How Syrian government forces and factions are linked to the mass killings of Alawites

On January 29, Ahmed al-Sharaa and more than 12 other commanders from armed factions that joined forces to overthrow Bashar al-Assad gathered in the presidential palace in Damascus in a show of unity among men who had fought each other almost as much as they’d fought Assad.

Al-Sharaa was named president and abolished the constitution, along with disbanding the Assad government’s army and security apparatus.

“The sun of a new Syria is rising,” he said.

Each commander received an army division and a rank, and they pledged to integrate their factions into the new Syrian army. In theory, al-Sharaa dissolved his militia, formerly known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, which was previously al-Qaeda’s Syria branch, known as the Nusra Front.

A pro-Assad uprising in early March in Syria’s coastal regions was the first test of the tenuous unity.

A few hours into the insurgency, the new government called for reinforcements to defeat the uprising of remnants of the Assad government, known in Arabic as “fuloul.” Tens of thousands of vehicles, fighters and weapons flooded the coast.

The defense ministry divided the coast into sectors, placing them under the command of a top official to coordinate movements and positions, according to three security sources, including Mohammed al-Jassim, commander of the Sultan Suleiman Shah Brigade, also known as Amshat.

A Reuters investigation found 1,479 Syrian Alawites were killed and dozens were missing from 40 distinct sites of revenge killings, rampages and looting. Five major groups were involved in the mass killings that followed in Alawite towns and neighborhoods, many of which were struck by multiple groups over three days:

HTS UNITS

These include Unit 400, the Othman Brigade, and its main law enforcement body, known as the General Security Service. Reuters found their involvement in at least 10 sites, where nearly 900 people were killed.

Before Assad fell, the GSS was the main HTS law enforcement arm in the province of Idlib under its control. It is now part of Syria's Interior Ministry.

In 2020, the U.N. described “deeply troubling” reports of executions and abuses at the hands of HTS law enforcement authorities. Human Rights Watch documented how HTS, then known as the Nusra Front, killed 149 Alawites in summary executions in Latakia in 2013.

Unit 400 is mentioned in a handful of online posts, none of them from official Syrian government accounts. Several of them posted in early December, using identical language, say Unit 400 fighters were being deployed to western Syria. The posts describe Unit 400 as "among the strongest units" in Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, having received "high levels of training and equipped with the most modern weaponry."

Unit 400 was moved to the coastal regions after Assad's falll, according to multiple witnesses and a member of the unit. A foreign intelligence source said the unit set up its headquarters in the former Syrian naval academy and answers only to the top levels of the Defense Ministry.

TURKISH-BACKED MILITIAS

Over the past decade, Turkey launched military incursions in Syria and backed rebels there to oppose both Assad and Kurdish forces it deems a threat.

These factions were part of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army, Syria’s second largest opposition coalition. SNA factions have a track record of abductions, sexual violence and widespread looting, according to Human Rights Watch and other rights groups.

Among those Turkey backed during the civil war were the Sultan Suleiman Shah Brigade and the Hamza division.

In the Alawite killings, Reuters found the involvement of those two groups in at least eight different sites where nearly 700 people were killed.

On his Facebook page, a militiaman affiliated with the Sultan Suleiman Shah division posted: “Turn off cameras. Kill every male. Their blood is as dirty as pigs.”

SUNNI FACTIONS

These include the anti-Assad rebel forces of Jayish al-Islam, Jayish al-Ahrar and Jayish al-Izza. Reuters found they were present in at least four sites where nearly 350 people were killed.

In 2013, Jayish al-Islam captured a number of Alawite women and men and put them in large metal cages to use as human shields from Syrian and Russian airstrikes in Damascus. The group is also blamed by rights groups for the disappearance of prominent activists during the revolution.

FOREIGN FIGHTERS

These include the Turkistan Islamic Party, or TIP, Uzbeks, Chechens, and some Arab fighters in six sites where Reuters found nearly 500 people were killed.

ARMED SUNNI CIVILIANS

Sectarian bitterness stemming from years of civil war and Assad's abuses led people to attack neighboring villages and neighborhoods of Alawites, a minority linked to the Assad family. Reuters found the two main sites of these revenge killings were the village of Arza and in the city of Baniyas, where a total of 300 people were killed.