“Latakia, Tuesday 25 November 2025: Documenting Atrocities Against Alawite Protesters”

Footage has emerged documenting an armed attack carried out using personal firearms (handguns) and military weapons (Russian rifles) by groups presented as “civilians,” in full view of de facto authority elements, with no intervention to stop the assault. In this context, it was also documented that the General Security apparatus armed civilians to carry out the attack against Alawite protesters, reflecting the security forces’ direct involvement in inciting sectarian violence and systematically targeting civilians.

The attack targeted peaceful protesters from the Alawite community at Al-Zira’a Roundabout in Latakia during their uprising on Tuesday, 25 November 2025, demanding their basic rights. These protesters had previously been subjected to massive atrocities in March and successive massacres since the fall of the previous regime up to the present day.

The protesters were demanding accountability for ongoing violations and the deprivation of tens of thousands of their natural rights to live as equal citizens, peacefully expressing grievances over oppression, discrimination, and injustice—demanding the most basic human rights:
to protest, and to claim their security, dignity, and economic and political rights without threat or repression.

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⚠️ Brief Legal Background

Since the control of the de facto authority led by Abu Muhammad al-Julani (Ahmad al-Shar’a), a series of systematic, sectarian-motivated crimes and violations against members of the Alawite community has been documented by de facto authority elements and their affiliates, including:

• Mass killings
• Targeted executions based on religious identity
• Forced displacement
• Arbitrary arrests
• Targeting of women, children, and the elderly
• Repeated attacks on their neighborhoods and villages

Given the systematic and repeated nature of these crimes, they clearly constitute crimes against humanity under international law and customary international humanitarian law, particularly as they are carried out within a general policy aimed at dismantling and excluding a specific religious group.

Mustafa Selim (Abu Muhammad), a member of the Ministry of Defense affiliated with the de facto Syrian authority, participated in gatherings in the Al-Saliba area of Latakia on 28/11/2025 in support of the interim government of Al-Julani, chanting sectarian slogans aimed at excluding other components of the Syrian population, including calls inciting control and marginalization, such as: “Who liberates, decides.”

This individual is linked to the internationally banned terrorist organization “Grey Wolves”, known for its extreme hostility toward Kurds, Arabs, Armenians, and Greeks, and is notorious for engaging in terrorist and sectarian activities.

Mustafa Selim has a documented record of sectarian violations, including:

• Participation in the March massacres targeting members of the Alawite community in the Alawite Coast.
• Incitement and participation in the September massacres in Suwayda against the Druze monotheist community.

Despite the clear visual and verbal evidence, he and others like him remain at large without accountability, with no legal or judicial measures taken against them, in an environment that legitimizes terrorism and impunity, while continuing to promote hate speech and exclusion against Syria’s diverse religious communities.

During the peaceful Alawite uprising in Latakia, the area of Al-Ziraa Roundabout witnessed an armed attack targeting an unarmed civilian gathering of Alawite protesters demanding their basic rights, following a series of massacres and collective violations committed against them since the takeover of the region by the De Facto Authority led by Abu Mohammad al-Julani.

A black Mercedes vehicle stopped near the crowd, and armed individuals—presenting themselves as “civilians” loyal to the temporary authority—stepped out. One of them opened live fire with an assault rifle, indiscriminately targeting unarmed Alawite civilians on a sectarian basis.

The attack occurred in full view of security forces affiliated with the De Facto Authority, who refrained from intervening or stopping the shooters, and instead allowed them to leave the scene without any pursuit. This stands in stark contrast to the official narrative claiming to protect peaceful gatherings.

Despite the armed assault, the Alawite protesters remained peaceful and continued to raise their legitimate demands:
• No killings
• No to sectarianism
• No to injustice
• Release of detainees

This scene reveals a profound gap between the official narrative and the reality on the ground.
It further indicates that the security forces of the De Facto Authority were not merely passive observers, but actively complicit, providing protection to the gunmen, facilitating their movement during the attack, and even contributing to arming some of them.

This incident remains a living testimony to the protesters’ commitment to peaceful expression and their pursuit of justice and dignity, despite ongoing attempts to obscure facts and distort the truth on the ground.