Alawites are an Arab ethnic and religious group, with distinct cultures, languages and religious beliefs. They live mainly in the Levant region in West Asia.

Ali Koshmr, a 36-year-old man from Syria's Latakia, around 330 km from Damascus, woke up to the sounds of gunfire, tires screeching and dozens of armed men shouting, "Come out, you Alawite pigs, Nusayris!

Syria's interim President Ahmed Sharaa said mass killings of members of ousted President Bashar al-Assad's minority sect were a threat to his mission to unite the country, and promised to punish those responsible,

Alawites constitute Syria’s largest minority and account for about 10 per cent of the population. The Assad connection has made Alawites the main target of anti-Assad militias since HTS seized control of Syria three months ago.

Alawites, a Shia sect, ruled Syria for decades under the Assads. Now, after Bashar al-Assad's fall, they face violence as sectarian tensions escalate in the war-torn country

Armed Sunni groups, considered loyal to the new regime after Assad’s removal, have begun retaliatory killings against Alawites, deepening Syria’s sectarian divide. This challenges the power of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which played a significant role in removing Assad from power.

Over 1,000 people have been killed in two days of clashes between Syrian security forces and loyalists of ousted President Bashar al-Assad. T

Syria: Clashes between new security forces and Assad loyalists erupted on Thursday in the Alawite heartland, escalating into reported mass killings.

While Alawites are generally considered an offshoot of Shia Islam, their beliefs and practices are far more complex