The civilian death toll of the massacre by the Syrian government and its allies in the northwest of the country continues to rise, as 11 more civilian bodies were found dumped in the river near Baniyas. They were killed with headshots, as is in keeping with most of the deaths in this month’s massacre.
Though the final death toll is still rising based on bodies recovered, the government’s claims that the incident is over and calm has returned seem to fly in the face of the evidence, with killings of Alawite civilians in the northwest continuing on a near-daily basis.
6 civilians, including the village elder, were killed in an attack on the Harf Banmarah village, an Alawite village close to Baniyas. The “gunmen” reported to carry out the attack were not reported to wear uniforms, though they did come from the nearby al-Desaynah military base, suggesting their either direct government troops or closely allied affiliates.
A 10th grade student was also reported to have been killed in the village of Shaas near Tartus, when security forces at the checkpoint opened fire on the car he was in. The driver, who reportedly survived, saw the checkpoint and decided to turn around and not face the troops there. Seeing the car turn around, they attacked, and the student ended up slain.
Syria’s former president Bashar al-Assad was an Alawite, and that has made Alawite civilians a target for the new Islamist government. The massacre began in earnest after Alawite militias attacked government forces in the northwest.
In the course of the massacre, a vast number of civilians, mostly Alawites but also Christians living in the northwest, were dragged from their homes and summarily executed. The toll is still being counted, with over 1,500 confirmed killed, and reports that the final toll could be in excess of 4,000.
