Exclusive-How Syria's sectarian violence spread to capital, terrorizing Alawites

A wall painted with a damaged drawing of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is pictured in the al-Qadam neighbourhood in Damascus, Syria, March 26, 2025. REUTERS/Firas Makdesi

DAMASCUS (Reuters) -Close to midnight on March 6, as a wave of sectarian killings began in western Syria, masked men stormed the homes of Alawite families in the capital Damascus and detained more than two dozen unarmed men, witnesses said.

Those taken from the neighbourhood of al-Qadam included a retired teacher, an engineering student and a mechanic, all of them Alawite - the minority sect of toppled leader Bashar al-Assad.