An Alawite neighborhood in the Syrian city of Homs was attacked by members of the HTS-backed Sunni Bani Khalid Bedouin tribe on 23 November, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported.

According to reports, the attackers entered the Al-Muhajireen neighborhood, storming and burning houses and shops, vandalizing cars, and firing indiscriminately at residents.

Initial reports indicate dozens of Alawites have been killed or wounded amid the chaos, which spread to the Al-Basel and Arman neighborhoods.

The attack by the Bedouin fighters allegedly comes in response to the brutal murder of a married couple from the Bani Khalid tribe in the town of Zaydal, located south of Homs city.

The couple was found dead inside their home, and the wife’s body was burned.

A sectarian slogan was found written on the wall in blood, suggesting the killers wished to anger Sunnis and spark a sectarian conflict in Homs, which is roughly divided between Sunni and Alawite residents.

The Bedouin attack coincided with the end of the school day, prompting security forces to intervene and prevent students from leaving.

The Syrian Ministry of Interior issued a statement stating that an investigation into the couple’s murder was ongoing and that the perpetrators had not been identified.

“This attack appears to have the goal of fueling sectarian divisions and undermining stability in the region,” said Major General Murhaf al-Nassan, head of internal security in Homs, in a statement to state media SANA.

“We are taking immediate measures to prevent further escalation,” he added.

Syrian journalist Scharo Maroof noted that “If this was indeed a murder, perpetrated by Alawite militants, it would not seem plausible for them to leave sectarian statements written in blood on the wall, the Alawite community is well aware that in every scenario, they would become the victim.”

Alawites were disarmed by Syria’s new government, led by former Al-Qaeda leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, after it came to power in December.

This has left Alawites largely defenseless and vulnerable to attacks by Syria’s new security forces and affiliated armed factions, who view all Alawites as deserving of death, due to their association with the former government of Bashar al-Assad during the 14-year war and due to the sectarian teachings of the medieval Islamic scholar, Ibn Taymiyyah, who declared them apostates.

As a result, Alawite civilians have been regularly murdered and kidnapped in Homs since Assad’s fall, including in several cases in just the past week.

On Friday, Wissam Daher Al-Ali (23 years old) and Muhammad Saleh Al-Ali (24 years old), cousins from the village of Abu Hakfa, were reported missing from the Al-Zahraa neighborhood in Homs city.

The bodies of the two young Alawite men were found that evening inside Al-Waer Hospital in Homs after being stoned to death.

The day before, a live broadcast from the city of Homs showed a number of local residents welcoming home a group of men who had been arrested for killing Alawites in the Wadi al-Dahab neighborhood of the city.

The live broadcast was accompanied by a caption stating:

“His Eminence Sheikh Sahl Junaid, may God preserve him, the Mufti of Homs, along with the people of Homs and the families of the martyrs, welcome the heroes who avenged our martyrs.”

According to the Syrian Justice Archive (SJA), “This indicates their acknowledgment that these individuals were responsible for killing civilians ‘as revenge’ and yet they were released.”

On 15 November, five Alawite men were massacred in the village of Umm Hartin al-Gharbiyah in the western Homs countryside, including the mukhtar of the village, SJA reported.

According to local sources, armed men riding in vehicles belonging to the government’s General Security Services (GSS) entered the village and opened fire inside a cafe.

On Thursday, the body of an Alawite man was found dumped on the Sixty highway after having been kidnapped by unidentified gunmen two days before from inside his shop in Wadi al-Dahab neighborhood behind the amusement park in Homs city, according to SOHR.

The Cradle Media report