Sharifa village massacre

In Sharifa, a quiet, once vibrant village on the Syrian coast, Friday morning turned into a bloody nightmare that none of its residents could have imagined.

Despite the changes that took place in the country after the fall of the regime, residents were going about their lives as usual, having been disarmed and handed over to neighbouring predominantly Sunni villages, such as al-Jankil and Babna. There were no previous tensions and no recorded hostility between neighbours, until the incident that sparked the massacre.

Events began when Hussein Khaled Hamsho, a resident of the neighbouring village of Babna, was killed on the Idlib highway, sparking the anger of the militants, who accused Sharifa residents of his murder. The anger quickly turned into organised bloody revenge, as chants erupted after Friday prayers on March 7, and tensions quickly escalated. It was only moments before the attack began, and the scene was like hell descending on the village. The gunmen entered Sharifa heavily armed with heavy and light weapons, firing indiscriminately at everyone they encountered. They did not distinguish between men and women, young and old, and even the elderly were not spared from their brutality, as was the case with Uncle Abu Ali Adam, who was killed in cold blood even though he was over 97 years old.

The eyewitness was hiding in a bush, watching the scene with terrified eyes and a heart pounding with fear. He saw how the gunmen broke into homes and dragged people out of them to be liquidated in the streets or in front of their homes. Sectarian slogans were hurled at the victims before they were shot. “Alawi is a pig” was said before a field execution was carried out. One of the victims, Abu Ayham Sharif Saad, had his feet burned to the knee before he was liquidated and thrown into a water trough near the village.

It wasn’t just killing, it was systematic looting. After the residents of the first neighbourhood were killed, the gunmen started looting the houses, stealing everything before burning them, even cars and bicycles were not spared. The shops were looted, the only bakery in the village was completely destroyed, the electricity tank was blown up, and the sawmill was completely stolen. The aim was not only to kill, but to erase the village and its inhabitants.

The violence was not limited to shooting and torture, but grenades were used to cause as much destruction as possible. Bombs were thrown inside houses, turning houses into smouldering masses of rubble, and the sounds of explosions echoed throughout the village.

The attack lasted for two days, amidst an absolute silence from the security authorities, who were clearly aware of what was going on. There was coordination between the armed factions and the official authorities, as the security forces did not intervene until after the massacre was over, so that they could enter as “heroes”…

As for the mukhtar, he received a call from the militants the next day, asking him to come to distribute bread. He was found dead next to the bread he was carrying, while residents were heard shouting at him before he was killed: “Do you want to feed the Alawite pigs?”

The witness was hiding in the bushes, watching from afar and moving with difficulty between the trees. When the danger increased and the militants started burning the bushes, he and his companions would have met their inevitable fate, if the wind had not changed the direction of the fire at the last moment. Death was all around him.

The witness recalls the moment when he heard one of the victims hiding nearby being ordered to lower his head, then one of the gunmen called out to his companions, “Bring the machete,” and the last man was heard screaming for help: “O Ali!”, but his voice was cut off by four shots, then four more were fired after the insults, thus killing Salah Ma’ruf, aka Abu Bashar.

As dawn broke, those who survived went out to look for their loved ones, but there was nothing but death and destruction.

Today, after the massacre ended, HTS entered, not to rescue those who remained, but to hide the traces of the crime, and to try to throw weapons among the corpses to make it look like they were battles

. Any Alawite in the region is now condemned to death, and no one is safe.

Amid the destruction, survivors wonder: Where is the world? Where is humanity? The people of Sharifa raise their voices, despite the pain and fear, appealing to the conscience of the world: “We are being annihilated, no one stands with us, no one hears our cries anymore. Is there any humanity left in this world?”

The eyewitness was hiding in a bush, watching the scene with terrified eyes and a heart pounding with fear. He saw how the gunmen broke into homes and dragged people out of them to be liquidated in the streets or in front of their homes. Sectarian slogans were hurled at the victims before they were shot. “Alawi is a pig” was said before a field execution was carried out. One of the victims, Abu Ayham Sharif Saad, had his feet burned to the knee before he was liquidated and thrown into a water trough near the village.

It wasn’t just killing, it was systematic looting. After the residents of the first neighbourhood were killed, the gunmen started looting the houses, stealing everything before burning them, even cars and bicycles were not spared. The shops were looted, the only bakery in the village was completely destroyed, the electricity tank was blown up, and the sawmill was completely stolen. The aim was not only to kill, but to erase the village and its inhabitants.

The violence was not limited to shooting and torture, but grenades were used to cause as much destruction as possible. Bombs were thrown inside houses, turning houses into smouldering masses of rubble, and the sounds of explosions echoed throughout the village.

The attack lasted for two days, amidst an absolute silence from the security authorities, who were clearly aware of what was going on. There was coordination between the armed factions and the official authorities, as the security forces did not intervene until after the massacre was over, so that they could enter as “heroes”…

As for the mukhtar, he received a call from the militants the next day, asking him to come to distribute bread. He was found dead next to the bread he was carrying, while residents were heard shouting at him before he was killed: “Do you want to feed the Alawite pigs?”

The witness was hiding in the bushes, watching from afar and moving with difficulty between the trees. When the danger increased and the militants started burning the bushes, he and his companions would have met their inevitable fate, if the wind had not changed the direction of the fire at the last moment. Death was all around him.

The witness recalls the moment when he heard one of the victims hiding nearby being ordered to lower his head, then one of the gunmen called out to his companions, “Bring the machete,” and the last man was heard screaming for help: “O Ali!”, but his voice was cut off by four shots, then four more were fired after the insults, thus killing Salah Ma’ruf, aka Abu Bashar.

As dawn broke, those who survived went out to look for their loved ones, but there was nothing but death and destruction.

Today, after the massacre ended, HTS entered, not to rescue those who remained, but to hide the traces of the crime, and to try to throw weapons among the corpses to make it look like they were battles

. Any Alawite in the region is now condemned to death, and no one is safe.

Amid the destruction, survivors wonder: Where is the world? Where is humanity? The people of Sharifa raise their voices, despite the pain and fear, appealing to the conscience of the world: “We are being annihilated, no one stands with us, no one hears our cries anymore. Is there any humanity left in this world?”

List of identified victims