Three members of one family kidnapped, killed in Syria’s Latakia

Three members of the same family who were killed in a kidnapping by suspected regime remnants in the town of Qardaha, Latakia were buried at dawn on Saturday, highlighting the still fraught security situation in the coastal area.

The mother of one of the victims, Ali Hatem, was also buried after dying from shock upon hearing news of their deaths on Friday.

“The family members were buried at 2:30 last night. The dead were Ali Hatem, his wife, and their son. Then Hatem’s mother, who lived in Zardana, suffered severe shock and passed away. She was buried with the family members,” local resident Basil Hamroush told The New Arab’s Arabic-language sister site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

Hamroush said the victims, who were originally from Idlib, had lived in the village of Ain Arous for 15 years. Two members of the family remain in captivity, with their fate unknown.

The family members were kidnapped on 6 March, with Syria’s General Security has followed their case since then.

Residents have blamed remnants of the old Syrian regime, who remain active in the Latakia countryside, and many believe there could be a sectarian motive in the killing.

“The rumours about the crime being committed on a sectarian basis are raising fears and require unwavering security and serious efforts to uncover the details of the crime that shook the region, as well as its motives, and whether or not it was committed on a sectarian basis,” local resident Ahmed al-Ali said.

Residents fear that these crimes, which are likely carried out by remnants of the Assad regime, will be repeated.

The killings came after the end of the crackdown on regime remnants in the Syrian coastal areas, which lasted from 6 to 10 March. 

Elsewhere in Latakia governorate on Friday, the ministry of interior announced the arrest of suspects in relation to the killing of a sanitation worker in the village of Baksa. The ministry said the crime was not sectarian related, and it is believed the victim was killed after a family dispute.

Last week, the Syrian Network for Human Rights reported the extrajudicial killings of ten civilians by unknown parties.

Bloodshed erupted on the Latakia coast on 6 March and continued for several days following mass attacks on security forces in Latakia and Tartous provinces by remnants of the former regime.

Armed groups linked to the new government then embarked on a brutal counter-insurgency campaign, killing hundreds of civilians and unarmed regime fighters.