In March 2025, Syria was once more engulfed by sectarian violence, with reports of the mass killings of religious minorities including Alawites and Christians.
Syria saw a sharp increase in violence, with brutal attacks and killings of innocent civilians, including women and children.Houses have been burgled, sanctified places disrespected, and belongings stolen, heart-wrenching images that starkly show the sheer plight of the Syrian people.
The most recent wave of violence, which targeted the coastal regions of Latakia and Tartous, highlights the instability of the country in the wake of the fall of the Assad regime and the rise of the Islamists-led government. The violence is not just an extension of the unstable past of Syria but also a stark reminder of the dangers facing the religious minorities in a very divided country.
The latest round of fighting occurred between March 7-8 between former government loyalist fighters and Islamist security forces. Over 1,000 people were killed during the two-day period, including 745 civilians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. Christian and Alawite groups, long-time supporters of the Assad regime, were the worst hit. Eyewitness testimony described a scene of horror as armed groups stormed Christian towns, killing men in the streets and leaving behind the women and children vulnerable to targeted attacks. Neighbourhoods in Latakia were leveled to the ground, and churches desecrated as Islamist militants vowed to purify Syria of so-called ‘remnants of the past.’
The Syrian Human Rights Watch reported that among the killed were 745 civilians, 125 members of the Syrian security forces, and 148 Assad fighters. The fall of Assad’s secular government left Syria’s Alawite and Christian minorities vulnerable to reprisals by hardline Islamic factions. The new regime, having originally promised to be broad-based, struggled to prevent extremist factions from imposing their will.
The instability has also been fueled by foreign powers. Turkish-backed rebels and Islamists funded by the Gulf are purported to have stepped up their presence in the region. Assad’s remnant supporters—Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah—are also accused of quietly supporting the Alawite resistance, fueling the violence. The Syrian government is currently facing one of its most challenging tests. The government’s inability to keep its security forces in line, coupled with the increasing opposition of rebel groups as well as minority ethnic groups, threatens to send the country into cycles of retaliation and instability. For Christians, the future is bleak. Under persistent attacks and without protection by state forces, many Christians have already resorted to seeking asylum overseas.
If the international community does not intervene, Syria will soon have lost the remaining Christian heritage – a real-time cultural and religious genocide.
