A Reuters investigation found 40 distinct sites of killings, looting and arson during three days of sectarian massacres ...

Alawites make up about 10% of Syria’s population of 24 million, living mostly along the country’s Mediterranean coast and nearby hilly countryside.

Many Alawites believe Syria’s new authorities won’t risk civil conflict by cracking down on the factions that perpetrated sectarian violence and other human rights violations.

Minority Alawites Like Assad Dominate In Syria Throughout the uprising in Syria, President Bashar Assad has been able to count on strong support in own sect, the Alawites.

-- Alawites broke away from Shi'ism more than 1,000 years ago and retain some links to it, including the veneration of Ali, the cousin and son-in law of the Prophet Mohammad.

Most Alawites do indeed fear that, if the Assad regime falls, they will face reprisals from the country’s majority Sunnis, who have led the rebellion against the government since March 2011.

Violent crackdown sends Syrian Alawites over the border into Lebanon The euphoria of Syria's new dawn has turned to violence. Alleged massacres of minority Alawites have sent a fresh wave of ...

The Alawites were displaced from their urban dwellings and quickly replaced by other inhabitants. The end result was that they lived in almost complete isolation, ...

Alawites took many of the top positions in government and the military and ran big businesses. They now accuse supporters of Sharaa, who once ran an al Qaeda affiliate, of systematically abusing ...

Though Alawites never uniformly supported Assad, their fear of an increasingly radicalized opposition stops them from breaking with the regime in significant numbers, analysts say.