Alawite women say they were abducted and sexually assaulted amid post-Assad violence

Summary

Dozens of women — mostly from Syria's Alawite community — say they were abducted, beaten and sexually assaulted in the months after Bashar al-Assad's fall in December 2024. The Syrian Feminist Lobby has logged reports of more than 80 missing women and confirmed 26 kidnappings; Amnesty International has also received credible reports. Survivors interviewed by the BBC described being dragged from villages in Latakia, held in underground rooms or industrial sites, raped, photographed and threatened with being sold or forced into servitude. Many victims said captors used sectarian slurs such as "sabaya" and that some abductors spoke poor Arabic or wore masks, while others reportedly had links to security elements.

Families and rights groups say investigations by the interim government's security services have been inadequate or dismissive; the interior ministry said it investigated 42 reports and deemed almost all false, while an anonymous security source acknowledged some undisciplined officers had carried out kidnappings and been dismissed. Activists warn a mix of sectarian revenge after March's deadly coastal violence and a wider climate of impunity have driven the abuses, leaving survivors traumatized, stigmatized and fearful of seeking justice or speaking out, as reported by BBC