Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Connor Echols
“In March of this year, Laya’s world came crashing down. Following a series of skirmishes in the coastal region of Syria, the country’s transitional government had mobilized forces to put down what it saw as a brewing rebellion among Alawites, a minority offshoot of Shia Islam and the religion of former President Bashar al-Assad. The operation quickly turned into a bloodbath. Government-affiliated militants and non-state actors swept through coastal towns, going door to door and killing any Alawite men they could find. Hundreds of bodies were dumped in the sea or in mass graves. ‘They killed my cousin,’ recalled Laya, who lost several relatives in the attacks. ‘They came to his door and killed him there, in front of his wife and children.'” (10/15/25)