Post-Assad Syria Dogged by Reports of Sectarian Violence, Insurgent Attacks

Recent weeks have seen scattered reports of violence against Syria’s Alawite minority, along with attacks—by unknown perpetrators—on HTS-led security personnel.

Fighters affiliated with Syria's new regime stand guard on the streets of the western coastal city of Latakia, Syria, on Dec. 26, 2024. Aaref Watad/AFP via Getty Images

Since the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad collapsed in December 2024, reports have surfaced of mounting sectarian violence, especially against Syria’s Alawite community, from which the ousted president’s family hails.

“Since early 2025, Syria has experienced a dramatic escalation in assassinations and retaliatory actions by groups of gunmen in different Syrian provinces,” the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) stated in a Jan. 26 report.