07/22/2025July 22, 2025More than 1,400 people killed in March in violence in western Syria
An outbreak of violence in March in western Syria claimed 1,426 lives, mostly civilians, according to a Syrian fact-finding mission.
According to the committee, the violence in coastal areas broke out on March 6, when armed groups loyal to the ousted dictator, Bashar Assad, attacked the new government’s security forces, killing 238.
In response, security forces descended on the region from other parts of the country, joined by thousands of armed civilians.
The committee said that some 200,000 armed men mobilized and, as they entered neighborhoods and villages, some committed “widespread, serious violation[s] against civilians,” said committee spokesman Yasser al-Farhan.
“These groups carried out large-scale assaults on military and security targets, blocked roads, and used heavy and light weapons,” al-Farhan said.
At the time, the British-based war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that over 1,600 people were killed, most of whom were from the Alawite minority to which Assad belonged.
In recent weeks, the southern Syrian province of Sweida has seen new sectarian clashes involving Sunni Muslim Bedouin clans and armed groups from the Druze religious minority.
The interim government’s security forces intervened to restore order and ended up siding with the Bedouins. Reports indicate that over 1,000 people were killed in the latest outbreak of violence.