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.

Syria has suffered its worst bloodshed since Bashar al-Assad was toppled from power, with more than 1,000 people reported killed in violence that has swept the coastal region since Thursday.

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.

Once empowered by the regime, many Alawites now face reprisals from rebel factions and displaced Sunni populations who suffered under Assad's rule.

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

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

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!

Local television reports that the country's president has ordered the creation of an independent commission to investigate what happened, and the inquiry will be known within a maximum period of 30 days.

More than 1,300 dead in a few days - US condemns "Islamist terrorists & foreign jihadists who murder civilians" - Turkey supports the jihadists - Washington & Moscow call for a Security Council meetin

The killing of at least 745 civilians in massacres targeting the Alawite minority in Syria exposes the criminality of NATO powers that support and legitimize the Islamist HTS regime.