More than 150 academics in Turkey have called on the international community to act over what they describe as mass killings and systematic persecution of Alawite communities in Syria, citing recent UN findings and rights group reports that document widespread abuses since March, the T24 news website reported on Monday.
In a statement titled “A call to the international community on mass killings and systematic destruction targeting Alawites in Syria,” the signatories say violations including “deliberate killings, torture, abductions, extrajudicial executions, sectarian humiliation, desecration of the dead, looting, the burning of property and farmland, and attacks on health facilities” have taken on a systematic character, particularly in coastal and central-western regions where Alawites are concentrated. They add that academics and scientists have also been targeted, threatening academic freedom and freedom of thought.
The appeal references an August report by the UN Human Rights Council as documenting large-scale abuses against civilians in areas under the de facto authorities, noting that roughly 1,400 people, most of them civilians, were killed during the massacres against Alawites in March. It also cites field accounts that point to higher casualty figures and the alleged responsibility of the Turkish-backed Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) forces. The text further notes a March preliminary report by the Human Rights and Humanitarian Follow-up Committee (Syria) claiming that 25 mass-killing incidents were recorded in early March and 2,246 Alawite victims were identified by name.
The academics say the climate of political pressure and sectarian fear has left Alawites with limited means to report abuses publicly. Beyond open massacres, they warn of a slower “destruction” through forced displacement, impoverishment, the burning of farmland and forests, kidnappings and attacks on sacred sites.
They also point to incidents where academics and medical professionals were targeted: Dr. Racha el-Ali, a faculty member at Homs University, was abducted months ago and has not been heard from since; Dr. Hassan İbrahim, a prominent chemist, was kidnapped in January 2025 and found shot dead days later near Damascus; and Dr. Zahra Hemsiya, a microbiologist known for her work on antibiotic resistance and public health, was killed during a nighttime raid on her home in December 2024. These incidents, the signatories argue, are “concrete evidence” that academic freedom as well as freedom of thought and expression are under attack in Syria.
Among the signatories are Şebnem Korur Fincancı, the president of the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) and prominent human rights activist; mathematician Tuna Altınel; neurologist Gençay Gürsoy; and documentary filmmaker and academic Can Candan. The group urges urgent international steps to ensure a political environment grounded in fundamental rights and freedoms in which the voices and demands of Syria’s Alawite community can be heard as well as a democratic order guaranteeing equal rights for all peoples in Syria.
Alevis in Turkey and Alawites in Syria are distinct religious groups despite both being Shi’a minorities. Alevis, mostly ethnic Turks and Kurds, follow a spiritual tradition influenced by Sufism and Anatolian folk beliefs. Alawites, primarily Arabs, practice a form of Twelver Shi’ism with esoteric elements and held political power in Syria under Bashar al-Assad.
Nevertheless, apart from their similar-sounding names, Alevis and Alawites share core beliefs, such as the veneration of Imam Ali and esoteric interpretations of Islam, yet they developed separately with distinct rituals, cultural influences and political roles.
Turkey never officially backed HTS and continues to designate it as a terrorist organization. However, Ankara was sympathetic to HTS’s fight against Assad and tacitly supported its military efforts to oust the Syrian leader.
When HTS launched its final offensive with other rebel groups in late 2024, Turkey did not intervene and instead ensured a steady flow of supplies and humanitarian aid to the Idlib enclave, even as it faced a siege by pro-Assad forces.