Deepening unrest is surfacing from Syria’s coastal regions, where members of the Alawite minority community have issued alarming accusations against the very institutions tasked with protecting them. According to residents, what began as governmental neglect has morphed into systemic ethnic cleansing, arbitrary detentions, and widespread terror allegedly carried out by the Ministry of Defense and state-backed militias.
In firsthand accounts reaching Amnewsworld, Alawites on the coast describe a reality in which they can no longer leave their homes due to rampant kidnappings that, they say, are perpetrated not by foreign actors but by the Syrian Ministry of Defense itself.
“Here on the coast, we can’t even leave our homes out of fear of being kidnapped because it is the Ministry of Defense that is behind the kidnappings,” one local source disclosed, requesting anonymity for safety. “We cannot even report them or say that they are the ones who kidnapped us.”
A Community Under Siege
Alawites say they are facing targeted persecution in the form of forced displacement from villages in Homs, Hama, and Damascus, unjustified dismissals from public service roles, and a wave of mass arrests targeting young Alawite men. Families are allegedly left in the dark about the whereabouts of their detained relatives, only to later receive calls to collect the bodies of their loved ones often showing signs of torture.
Crops and farmland the backbone of life in these rural communities are reportedly being ravaged by herds directed by Bedouin tribes loyal to the Ministry of Defense. Locals describe this as a deliberate starvation tactic, part of a wider strategy to cripple and cleanse the region of its native Alawite population.
“The coast is being burned,” one witness told Amnewsworld. “Their sheep are sent into our farms to destroy everything. It’s a war of hunger, not just bullets.”
No Sanctuary for Christians Either
The Christian population in the region is also reported to be suffering under the same pattern of terror. Massacres, harassment, and displacement have reportedly targeted Christian villages alongside Alawite communities, leading to widespread fear and trauma among both groups.
Accusations of Ideological Takeover
One of the most chilling accusations emerging from the coastal region is that of an ideological and cultural imposition. Locals allege that Sunni extremist factions some of whom fled other parts of Syria during the Assad regime’s reign have now aligned with powerful authorities and are implementing rigid, religious codes across coastal towns.
“These groups are dictating how women and men should dress, kidnapping girls, and indoctrinating children. It’s no longer just about control it’s about transformation,” said another source familiar with the developments.
Systematic Silence and International Inaction
Residents lament that the international community has failed to recognize or intervene in what they describe as an ongoing humanitarian disaster. Despite mounting evidence of widespread human rights violations, the coastal region has not been declared a disaster zone, nor have the mass arrests and deaths under torture drawn the global condemnation typically seen in such circumstances.
Meanwhile, state-run media and official reports continue to suppress the narrative, blaming Alawites for crimes committed against them and denying the presence of kidnappings or mass arrests.
“When the killer is the judge and his partners are in the courtroom, they merely justify the actions of the criminals,” one resident said bitterly.
As the cycle of violence continues with little sign of relief, both Alawite and Christian communities in Syria’s coastal belt say they feel increasingly abandoned by their own government and by the world.
Amnewsworld continues to monitor the situation and urges global human rights organizations to investigate the claims and provide independent verification and intervention where necessary.
English 
Suomi 