New Campaign Documents Minority Abuse Amid Syria’s Breakdown, Calls for Federalism

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – A new media campaign has been launched to cast an international spotlight on what organizers describe as the escalating persecution of Syria’s Alawite, Christian, and Druze minorities, who have been subjected to horrific attacks and massacres in recent months. The initiative, spearheaded by the newly established Western Syria Development Organization (WSD), aims to provide documented evidence of the atrocities through field reports and survivor testimonies, arriving at a moment of profound crisis for Syria as minority communities increasingly challenge the central government’s authority and the country’s future hangs in a precarious balance.

The Western Syria Development organization, which presents itself as a non-governmental body committed to empowering communities in western Syria, announced the campaign to provide timely information and resources on the massacres targeting minorities, in addition to threats directed at Kurds and moderate Sunnis.

According to the organization, horrific attacks occurred against Alawites in March and April, and against the Druze in May and July. The Druze-majority city of Sweida remains completely besieged, with 33 villages reportedly taken over by hostile forces.

In a statement announcing the initiative, the Lebanon-based organization declared that the Syrian people deserve to live in peace and freedom, without fear of oppression and torture. "These horrific attacks must be stopped," the statement read, adding that the organization is "committed to ensuring this is achieved through advocacy and messaging."

The campaign’s goal is to build awareness among the American public and the international community through “verified facts, faces, and voices to better understand the horrific situation in the hope of ending the persecution.”

The chairman of the WSD organization affirmed a commitment to rebuilding shattered communities. "We believe in the ability of society to rise again, and our organization is dedicated to building a future where human dignity and rights are preserved," he said.

The initiative received an endorsement from John Hajjar, co-chairman of the American Middle East Coalition for Democracy (AMCD).

"We Mideast American NGOs and communities, congratulate the founders and members of recently formed Western Syria Development Organization, located in Beirut, Lebanon, which is raising the issue of persecution of minority communities in Syria, in particularly, Western Syria, against the Alawites, Christians, and Druze," Hajjar stated.

In an exclusive information obtained by Kurdistan24, the organization reportedly plans to coordinate its efforts with several moderate Arab countries, including Egypt, the UAE, Bahrain, Jordan, and Tunisia, which also face threats from the Muslim Brotherhood, to confront the broader jihadi danger in the region.

A Backdrop of Political Fragmentation

The WSD’s campaign emerges against the backdrop of a rapidly deteriorating political landscape where Syria’s minorities are no longer just victims but are actively organizing to demand fundamental changes to the state’s structure.

Just this week, as Kurdistan24 previously reported, a group of Syrian politicians and activists from the coastal region announced the formation of the “Political Council for Central and Western Syria.” This new body, representing the Alawite-majority provinces of Tartous, Latakia, and parts of Homs and Hama, has put forth a political vision rooted in federal democracy as the only viable solution to end the country's chronic conflicts.

In its founding declaration, the council described federalism as the “replacement of force with law and the final solution to Syria’s internal disputes,” branding the current ruling authority in Damascus an “illegitimate and terrorist system.”

The council reaffirmed its commitment to UN Security Council Resolution 2254, which calls for a political transition, a new constitution, and internationally supervised elections.

This move reflects a growing sentiment of alienation detailed in a recent comprehensive report by The Washington Post, which noted that the Trump administration’s Syria envoy, Thomas Barrack, has signaled a potential shift in U.S. policy.

According to the report, Barrack acknowledged that Syria might need to consider alternatives to a highly centralized state, suggesting “not a federation but something short of that, in which you allow everybody to keep their own integrity.”

The Post’s report, titled “Could Syria unravel? Fearful minorities resist new leader’s bid for control,” described how a “wall of fear” has risen around minority communities, where the Sunni Islamist-led government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa is increasingly viewed as a threat.

Despite al-Sharaa’s pledges to unify Syria, fractures are deepening as communities in the Druze mountains, Alawite coastal strongholds, and Kurdish regions voice calls for autonomy or decentralization.

The Sweida Crisis and Damascus’s Hardline Stance

The plight of the Druze, a central focus of the WSD campaign, has been tragically highlighted by the recent crisis in Sweida. As Kurdistan24 has extensively reported, citing the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the death toll in the governorate since July 13 has risen to a staggering 1,677.

This figure includes casualties from clashes, Israeli airstrikes, and, most chillingly, field executions. SOHR documented that 452 Druze victims—including women, children, and 20 medical staff from Sweida National Hospital—were executed by forces from Syria’s Defense and Interior Ministries.

In response to the violence, hundreds of demonstrators have taken to the streets in Sweida under the slogan "The Right to Self-Determination," demanding independence and the trial of officials they hold responsible for the atrocities.

The protests have also carried urgent humanitarian appeals for the opening of corridors to deliver food and medical supplies to the besieged region.

Despite the carnage, Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa has unequivocally rejected any possibility of the country's partition. In a dialogue session reported by Sky News Arabia, Al-Sharaa labeled calls for division "impossible" and a product of "political ignorance."

He acknowledged that government forces committed abuses in Sweida and promised accountability, but he remains firmly committed to a strong, centralized government in Damascus.

This centralist vision has been directly challenged not only by the newly formed Alawite council but also by a landmark conference held in Hasakah.

As Kurdistan24 reported, the conference brought together representatives from Syria’s diverse ethnic and religious communities, who collectively endorsed a decentralized, federal state. In powerful video messages, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, a leading Druze authority, and Sheikh Ghazal Ghazal, head of the Supreme Alawite Islamic Council, both advocated for a decentralized system as the only guarantee for securing minority rights.

The Syrian government’s reaction was swift and severe, with a statement carried by the state news agency SANA condemning the conference as an attempt to "fragment the country" and "evade future obligations."

A Legacy of Disappearance and Impunity

The ongoing violence and persecution documented by groups like the WSD are compounded by a long and dark history of state-sponsored atrocities.

This month, the head of Syria’s newly established commission for missing persons, Mohammed Reda Jalkhi, told state media that the number of people who vanished during decades of Assad family rule and the subsequent civil war could exceed 300,000.

Jalkhi revealed that the commission has a map of more than 63 documented mass graves in Syria and is working to establish a national databank of the disappeared.

While Syria’s new authorities have pledged to deliver justice, a Kurdistan24 report noted that more people have gone missing under the current government in the aftermath of recent clashes with Alawites on the coast and Druze in Sweida.

This indicates that the patterns of enforced disappearance and impunity that defined the Assad era may be continuing, fueling the very fears and grievances that organizations like the Western Syria Development Organization are now desperately trying to bring to the world’s attention.