
🇸🇾 REPORT | A New York Times investigation found that abductions of women and girls from Syria’s Alawite minority are far more widespread and brutal than authorities have acknowledged. ▫️While the government officially acknowledged only one "real" case, the Times verified the kidnappings of 13 Alawite women and girls and received reports of scores more. ▫️ Survivors reported being grabbed off the street in broad daylight, held in filthy conditions, beaten, and subjected to sexual violence. Five of the verified victims were raped, and two returned home pregnant. ▫️ Captors often explicitly targeted victims for being Alawite, at times citing extremist views that deem the minority "permissible to rob and rape". Other cases involved purely criminal extortion, with one family paying a $17,000 ransom for a relative who was never released. ▫️Families and rights groups say many cases remain uninvestigated, pointing to a pattern of denial and limited accountability despite mounting evidence.



































