4.711 Syrian civilians reported dead in the first 100 days after Assad's fall

At least 4.711 Syrian civilians have been killed—1.805 in sectarian-based attacks—in the first XNUMX days since the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad's regime, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights announced Tuesday.

The organization, which has been reporting on human rights violations in Syria since the start of the civil war in 2011, also denounced the existence of "a state of chaos prevailing in most regions of Syria."

The Observatory "recorded the deaths of 4.711 civilians, including 4.172 men and young people, 345 women, and 194 children" between December 8 and March 18.

He estimated military casualties at 1.605.

"All were killed in various circumstances and in different areas of Syria," stressed the UK-based conflict monitoring agency, which has a broad network of partners on the ground.

According to the Observatory, 1.805 cases were executions in the countryside and murders based on “sectarian identity and affiliation with the former regime.”

Most of these deaths occurred in March, in parallel with attacks carried out by pro-Assad militants on the Syrian coast against checkpoints belonging to the Syrian Ministries of the Interior and Defense, specifically on March 6, the organization reported.

The report also notes that the fall of the old regime was accompanied by a state of chaos in most regions of Syria, a situation that "was exploited by cowardly individuals to seize public assets for personal gain."

The lightning offensive carried out by the Islamist-led alliance of the Levant Liberation Organization (HTS) overthrew the Assad regime with relatively few casualties, and repression and political violence remained stable for several months. Since late February, the situation has changed radically.

The coordinated and organized attack by groups loyal to Assad in the predominantly Alawite regions of the west of the country against members of the Ministry of Defense led to a crackdown that resulted in numerous extrajudicial killings and acts of revenge by security forces and groups close to the new government in Damascus.

The Alawite minority is the branch of Shia Islam professed by the Assad clan and favored during more than half a century of consecutive terms under the father, Hafez, and his son, Bashar. Specifically, they held positions in the regime's security apparatus. EFE