Al-Mukhtariyah: 148 Civilians Killed for Being Alawite – The Massacres of Syria’s Coast

The convoys began arriving on the outskirts of the Alawite village around 4 a.m., accompanied by honking and religious chants that echoed throughout the area. At first, we thought they were just passing through and didn’t believe they were coming for our village — we had no regime remnants or weapons. The convoys stopped on the M4 road directly across from the village, stretching about 4 km. Some vehicles carried mounted guns, while others were light military vehicles.

Before 6 a.m., military convoys advanced and surrounded the village. Then, 23 mm cannons began firing at homes from all directions, accompanied by explosions — I couldn’t tell if they were bombs, mortar shells, or something similar. The gunfire directly targeted the homes. We all thought our house was being mistakenly targeted, so the residents did not flee or hide at this point. They remained, thinking they would be safe if they stayed indoors. But as the 23 mm shelling continued, bullets began penetrating the homes, killing people inside.

At that moment, I realized this was no random shelling — the intensity and duration of the attack on the house were clear. So I called for my siblings who lived next door to flee, and I ran to hide in the chicken coop located a bit away from my home. After the village was engulfed in fire… the storming began.

A village witness says: After the gunfire stopped, hundreds of cars entered the village, mostly Hyundai Santa Fe models, along with pickup trucks armed with weapons (according to multiple testimonies, most of the pickups were white Kia trucks with 23 mm guns). Each car went to a house in the village, blasting religious chants as fighters shouted slogans. We didn’t expect them to enter the village like this, nor did we think their goal was to commit a massacre. Had we known, we would have fled. We trusted them, but they turned out to be brutal, killing both the young and the elderly without distinction.

The same witness who hid in the chicken coop used a nylon sheet to conceal himself after hearing the chants and sensing the fighters’ approach. At that moment, he could hear cries for help from his seventy-year-old neighbor, who had been wounded by a bullet that pierced through the wall.

The gunmen, dressed in military uniforms and gray vests, reached the homes. I saw them arrive at my brother’s house — they broke the door and entered. They dragged him and my other brothers outside. I had left my house key in the door when I fled. I thought if they wanted to enter, they could do so without breaking in — we usually leave our keys in the door since we’re one family living nearby. But they still broke it and entered.

They took my four brothers toward the main road. Then they began gathering the neighbors under sectarian insults, beatings with hands, feet, and sticks, and forced them to howl like dogs.

All testimonies agree that the factions rounded up every man they found, aged 15 and older. Some were in their seventies. Others managed to escape and hide in fields and orchards.

A witness says: They forced people to crawl and howl. They beat them brutally even while pushing them forward. When they had gathered them, I saw my brothers being shot in the chest. My brothers, cousins, and aunt were all shot dead in their chests and stomachs.

Ahmad Hafez Abdullah: Suffered from hemophilia. He was taken from his home to the street and killed.

The Al-Sharqi Family: A father and his sons were taken from their home. Some were forced to strip before being executed.

Ali Fareed Abdullah: Dragged out of his home and killed in front of his wife and children.

Ahmad Al-Sharqi: A young man with partial disability from a car accident. Thrown from the second floor, and when he survived, shot dead.

“We opened our homes to them and welcomed them like our own children, but they killed us. When my husband opened the door to greet them, they killed him immediately. Then they stormed in, screamed at us, and set the children’s room on fire while we were inside. They massacred dozens of villagers before my eyes. I saw them kill them all.”

Testimony of a mother whose husband was killed and son brutally beaten despite being underage:

Arrest, torture, and mass killing

Documentation and Numbers

Additional Horrific Details

The Goal of the Massacre: Eradicating the Males of the Village

The Moment of Mass Escape

Survivors’ Suffering

The Khreibeh Massacre

Terrorizing Women and Forced Displacement

The Burning Continues

Government Inaction

Village of Mukhtariyah