SYRIAN COAST — A 16-year-old girl left her family home last May heading to a nearby shop. The trip was supposed to take only minutes, but it turned into an absence that lasted more than 100 days, a disappearance that has become part of a broader and darker pattern than Syrian authorities acknowledge. Weeks after her disappearance, her family received a call from an unknown individual who claimed to be holding the girl and demanded a large ransom in exchange for her release, according to four people familiar with the case. The family paid the ransom, and in August, the girl returned home.

However, her return was not the end of the story. The girl later told people close to her that she had been held in a dark basement, where she was repeatedly drugged and raped by unknown men. A subsequent medical examination revealed that she had returned pregnant, adding further shock to a family still trying to process what had happened.

Since the overthrow of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in late 2024, warnings from families and activists have escalated regarding the disappearance of women and girls from the Alawite community, to which al-Assad belongs. Many fear these incidents may be part of sectarian retaliation.

Although the Syrian government denies the existence of systematic targeting and says it has documented only one case, an investigation by The New York Times, based on dozens of interviews, portrays a very different story. The investigation documented the abduction of 13 Alawite women and girls, in addition to one man and one boy. Five of the abducted women reported being raped, while two returned pregnant. In one case, a family paid $17,000 to kidnappers but has not yet secured the return of their daughter. The family provided screenshots of ransom messages and money transfers as evidence.

In another case, a 24-year-old woman said she was held for three weeks in a filthy room, where she was raped, beaten, had her hair and eyebrows shaved, and was assaulted with razor blades. Four individuals familiar with the case confirmed that her family paid a ransom and eventually secured her release.

Syrian activists say these cases may represent only a portion of a wider phenomenon, but documenting them remains difficult. Many victims and their families remain silent out of fear of retaliation, whether from kidnappers or official authorities.

Most of those who spoke to the New York Times did so on condition of anonymity, and the publication withheld the names of victims for their protection. The investigation relied on cross-referenced sources, including firsthand testimonies, social media posts documenting moments of abduction and return, ransom messages, as well as interviews with doctors and humanitarian workers who treated victims after their release.

These incidents come amid deep tensions between the Alawite community, which makes up about 10% of Syria’s population, and the new government led by former fighters from the Sunni majority. During his rule, al-Assad relied heavily on members of his sect in security and military institutions, leading many opponents to associate the Alawite community with the former regime.

In March, sectarian violence erupted in northwestern Syria, killing around 1,400 people, according to a United Nations investigation. The report concluded that some government security personnel were involved in the killings, deepening fear among Alawites.

Many victims and their families say authorities have not taken kidnapping cases seriously, either in investigations or rescue efforts.

While the government continues to deny a pattern of targeting, the evidence gathered in the investigation suggests a different reality, one in which women and girls are abducted, and their stories remain hidden behind a wall of fear and silence.

In a country like Syria, a new form of suffering appears to be emerging—this time in the shadows, far from frontlines, but no less brutal.