Ten people have been shot dead in Syria, according to the British-based Syrian Human Rights Observatory (SOHR). Among them were a child and an elderly woman.
The attack took place in the village of Arzah, a village with Alawites – the minority to which former dictator Bashar al-Assad belongs and which was therefore most loyal to the ousted regime.
According to SOHR, the attack was carried out by Sunni Muslims and "bears all the hallmarks of sectarian killing".
A villager told AFP that seven perpetrators in two vehicles drove into the village and tricked their way into the homes by saying it was about a weapons inspection. They then took the men out of the houses and forced them to their knees before "cold-bloodedly" shooting them dead.
Since al-Assad was ousted and the Islamist group HTS took power in Syria, violence against Alawites has increased sharply. 162 members of the group have been killed, according to the observatory.
