War crimes likely committed by both sides in Syria violence targeting Alawis, UN says

War crimes were likely committed by both Syrian government forces and fighters loyal to the country’s former rulers during a major outbreak of sectarian violence in Syria’s coastal areas that culminated in a series of March massacres, a UN team of investigators says in a report.

Some 1,400 people, mainly civilians, were reported killed during the violence that primarily targeted Alawi communities. Reports of violations continue, according to a report by the UN Syria Commission of Inquiry.

The incidents in the coastal region were the worst violence to hit Syria since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad last year, prompting the interim government led by Ahmed al-Sharaa to name a fact-finding committee.

More recently, sectarian violence broke out in the Druze-majority Sweida in southern Syria, a conflict that drew in Israeli intervention.