Twelve combatants, the majority of them Alawites, were killed today by armed men in western and central Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, three weeks after massacres were committed against the minority from which former President Bashar al-Assad hails.

In Tartus province in western Syria, where the majority of residents are Alawites, six civilians were killed in a village, including a local official, according to the Observatory.

The attackers used a former camp now occupied by forces from the defence and interior ministries as a base. Always according to the NGO, the attackers reportedly shouted insults of a religious nature before executing the six civilians.

In Homs, two gunmen stormed a house in a neighborhood where Alawites and Sunnis live together, killing a woman and three of her children, including a little girl, in cold blood and wounding the father. The family members were Alawites.

Two Sunni Muslims who were visiting the family were also killed, the Observatory added, specifying that the attackers were “a security officer and his son.”

The new Syrian authorities have the difficult task of restoring stability to a country torn apart by 14 years of civil war.

Executions of civilians

Today’s attacks come nearly three weeks after massacres in Syria amid clashes between security forces and supporters of former President Assad.

Syrian security forces, their allied groups and foreign jihadists are accused of committing the worst atrocities since the overthrow of Assad’s regime on December 8 by a coalition led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

The Syrian Observatory has denounced massacres against Alawis that left more than 1,700 dead and wiped out entire families, particularly on March 7 and 8. Before executing or releasing their victims, the perpetrators asked them if they were Alawites or Sunnis, according to survivors and several NGOs.

The Observatory and activists have released videos showing executions of unarmed civilians.

More than 21,000 people have fled to northern Lebanon, which borders the Syrian coast, according to the UN.

Syria’s interim president Ahmed al-Sara has pledged to prosecute those responsible and has set up an independent commission of inquiry to that end. However executions and acts of vendetta occur regularly, according to the Observatory.