Alawite Women Vanish in Syria As HTS Extremists Resurrect Daesh-Style Reprisals
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A surge in the abductions of Alawite women across Syria’s coastal provinces is reviving dark memories of Daesh's (ISIS or ISIL) brutality, as HTS militants deploy intimidation and ransom tactics once used to enslave Izadis.
Dozens of Alawite women and girls have disappeared from Syria’s coastal provinces in a wave of kidnappings and intimidation widely attributed to extremist factions emboldened by the rise of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), leaving families desperate and authorities either indifferent or complicit.
On May 21, Abeer Suleiman vanished from a street in Safita. Hours later, her family received a blunt message via WhatsApp: “She’s not coming back.”
In calls and messages, her kidnappers demanded a $15,000 ransom, threatening to traffic or kill her. “I am not in Syria,” Suleiman told her relatives in a recording, her voice shaking as she described foreign accents around her.
She is among at least 33 Alawite women and girls, aged 16 to 39, who have been abducted or gone missing this year, according to their families. The disappearances follow the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December, which triggered an anti-Alawite backlash and attacks by armed factions linked to HTS and their al-Qaeda affiliates.
Entire communities in Tartous, Latakia, and Hama—regions long considered Alawite heartlands—have been plunged into fear. Social media accounts reviewed by Reuters show near-daily pleas from relatives searching for daughters and wives. The United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Syria confirmed it is investigating a surge in abductions.
Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, the commission’s chair, reported at least six confirmed abductions of Alawite women in recent months, with credible information pointing to additional cases.
Suleiman’s family scrambled to collect the ransom, wiring payments to accounts in Turkey. Once the final transfer was made, the abductors fell silent. Her fate remains unknown.
Interviews with 16 families revealed seven clear kidnappings, with ransoms ranging from $1,500 to $100,000. Three women indicated they had been smuggled out of Syria. The other cases remain unresolved.
Local authorities have downplayed the crisis. Tartous governorate’s media office dismissed claims of targeted abductions, suggesting “family disputes or personal reasons.” Latakia officials insisted many women had eloped voluntarily.
Rights advocates reject these denials as cynical deflections. Syrian activist Yamen Hussein said abductions escalated after the March massacres of Alawites. He described the attacks as part of a strategy to terrorize the community and humiliate its women—tactics reminiscent of the Daesh crimes against Izadis.
Seventeen-year-old Zeinab Ghadir disappeared on her way to school. Her kidnapper threatened her family by text: “I don’t want to see a single picture, or I swear to God I will send you her blood.”
Other victims were seized in broad daylight. Khozama Nayef was abducted by a group who drugged her and held her for 15 days. After her release, she suffered a mental collapse.
While some missing women have resurfaced—occasionally under dubious circumstances or apparent coercion—many have not. Alawite families fear a repeat of Daesh-era atrocities as HTS consolidates power.
Nagham Shadi’s father recounted how his daughter disappeared on a simple errand. “What do we do?” he asked. “We leave it to God.”
