(Reuters) - Syria has suffered its worst bloodshed since Bashar al-Assad was toppled from power, with more than 1,000 people reported killed in violence that has swept the coastal region since Thursday. The violence has pitted the Islamist-led government's security forces against fighters from Assad's Alawite minority.
Alawites are an Arab ethnic and religious group, with distinct cultures, languages and religious beliefs. They live mainly in the Levant region in West Asia.
While Alawites are generally considered an offshoot of Shia Islam, their beliefs and practices are far more complex
Syria, Assad and Alawites
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Who are Syria's Alawites? The sect facing violence after Assad's fall
Syria descends into violence: Who are the Alawites who are being killed in hundreds?
At least 1,300 have been killed in Syria as security forces clash with loyalists of ousted president Bashar al-Assad. The violence is concentrated in Tartus and Latakia, home to Alawites. The Assads belong to this sect,
Hundreds killed in Syria as new leader says divisions from Assad regime are prompting fresh violence
The reported fighting in the capital, Damascus, and the second city of Aleppo marked the first such clashes there since the fall of the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
Over 1,300 people have been killed in fierce clashes between government forces and gunmen loyal to the Assad regime, according to a war monitor, in a serious challenge to the country’s new rulers.
Once empowered by the regime, many Alawites now face reprisals from rebel factions and displaced Sunni populations who suffered under Assad's rule.
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