In Khirbet al-Hammam in Syria, an Alawite-majority area, dread spreads as killings, forced disappearances, beatings, and sectarian harassment become a terrifying reality, according to a recent report by The Washington Post.

Al Mayadeen

The Alawite community, once aligned with al-Assad’s regime, now finds itself targeted by growing violence.

KHIRBET AL-HAMMAM, Syria — Violence came roaring into this village in western Syria last week, when war was supposed to have receded.

Munitions fired by former rebels tore through homes, killed a teenage boy and left fears of vicious reckonings to come after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

A sense of euphoria in much of Syria has been tempered by dread in areas like Khirbet al-Hammam, where most residents are Alawites, the Muslim sect Assad belongs to. As the country’s new Sunni Islamist rulers embark on a hunt for former government figures, Alawite districts are gripped by terror and confusion, as reports spread of killings, disappearances, beatings and sectarian harassment.

The violence has posed an early test for Syria’s fledgling government, led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, the designated terrorist group that toppled Assad in early December with the help of other insurgent factions and Turkish/ American/ British backing and was quick to promise tolerance for minorities.

Syria’s minority Alawite community is gripped by terror as reports spread of killings and disappearances under the country’s new Islamist rulers.