Syrian religious minority living in fear amid renewed attacks

Syrian Alawite families who fled the clashes in Syria hold their luggages as they cross a river marking the border between Syria and northern Lebanon near the village of Heker al-Daher in Akkar province, Lebanon (Hussein Malla/AP)

A month after a wave of revenge attacks left hundreds of Alawite civilians dead, members of the Syrian religious minority are still living in fear, with dozens killed in smaller attacks since the start of April.

The Muslim minority group was seen as a privileged minority under the rule of the Alawite Assad family, but since Bashar Assad’s government fell late last year members have feared revenge from the country’s Sunni majority.