Alawites Protest HTS Abductions, Killings in Western Syria – World news

The demonstrations erupted Thursday in Latakia following the kidnapping of Mohammed Qais Haidar, a 13-year-old Alawite student, according to PressTV.

Protesters carried photos of the boy and demanded authorities act swiftly.

Shops closed and parents kept children home amid anger over repeated attacks on Alawites by HTS terrorists.

Witnesses said gunmen seized Haidar in front of Jamal Dawood School on Wednesday in daylight, using two vehicles to scatter onlookers before escaping.

The Syrian Justice Archive (SJT) reported that armed men linked to the General Security forces, driving a silver Hyundai Santa Fe, carried out the abduction.

The group said Haidar’s parents—his father a university professor and his mother a teacher—were well known in Latakia and that the kidnapping occurred in a supposedly secure area near a local security post.

State media said security forces had opened an investigation.

The abduction followed the killing of Alawite teacher Liyal Dammar Ghreib in Homs Province on October 7.

According to SJT, two members of the General Security shot her outside Walid al-Najjar School in the Jubb al-Jandali district as she arrived for work.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) warned that the surge in kidnappings in Alawite-majority areas is reviving fear among residents, especially parents and students.

Local reports said Shiite resident Ali Muhammad Madah was abducted from his Homs home Wednesday by HTS-linked gunmen who stole money, assaulted women in the house, and demanded a ransom of 600 million Syrian pounds ($55,000).

In Hama, the body of Alawite man Nidal Ahmad Salloum was found Thursday, two days after his abduction.

SOHR said another Alawite man from the Masyaf countryside was also found dead after being kidnapped by unknown gunmen.

The crimes have intensified amid instability since HTS militants—led by Ahmad al-Shaara, known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani—toppled President Bashar al-Assad on December 8, 2024, following an Israeli- and US-backed offensive across Syria’s western provinces.

SOHR said at least 1,600 Alawite civilians were killed in 55 massacres between March 7 and 10 during HTS operations marked by mass killings, looting, and arson.