Sat Feb 01 21:45:27 IST 2025: ## Syria Massacre: Ten Alawite Civilians Shot Dead in Hama Village
**BEIRUT, February 1, 2025** – Ten civilians, including a child and an elderly woman, were murdered in a targeted attack in the Syrian village of Arzah, Hama countryside, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). The Britain-based war monitor reported that gunmen, believed to be Sunni Muslims, entered the Alawite village Friday evening, selectively targeting homes and shooting residents at close range using silenced handguns.
Witnesses described how the gunmen, arriving in two vehicles, pretextually conducted weapons inspections before forcing male residents out, making them kneel, and executing them. Former Syrian officers and soldiers were among the victims. Security forces have reportedly surrounded the area to apprehend the perpetrators.
The attack, described as a “massacre” by SOHR chief Rami Abdel Rahman, highlights the ongoing sectarian violence plaguing Syria following the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad in December. The Alawite community, a Shiite offshoot, fears increasing reprisals due to its association with the Assad regime. Since Assad’s removal, the Observatory has documented at least 162 killings of Alawites.
The Syrian newspaper Al-Watan reported that security forces are searching for the criminals. A resident, speaking anonymously for fear of retribution, corroborated the account of the massacre to AFP.
This incident comes after the arrest of Assad’s cousin, Atif Najib, on Friday, who is accused of orchestrating a crackdown in Daraa, the birthplace of the 2011 uprising that plunged Syria into a devastating civil war. Despite assurances from the new Syrian authorities, the fear of further violence against the Alawite minority remains a significant concern.
First Piper 