Systematic abduction of Alawite women in Syria; Reproduction of DAESH crimes Jolani rule

Pars Today – Since Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led by Al-Jolani, took control of parts of Syria last December, horrifying reports have emerged of the abduction of dozens of young women, primarily from the Alawite community, by armed groups affiliated with this faction.

According to official reports, since December, after Al-Jolani, the leader of the terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (a splinter faction of Al-Qaeda in Syria), came to power, the country has witnessed a terrifying wave of mysterious abductions of young women, mostly from the Alawite community. As reported by Pars Today, citing The Cradle, local activists confirm that these women are being subjected to sexual slavery under the guise of "forced marriages" in Idlib province, the stronghold of HTS. 

A familiar pattern: From Sinjar to Idlib

This scenario is reminiscent of DAESH’s crimes in 2014 against Yazidi women in Iraq, who were enslaved under the pretext of "jihad of marriage". Now, it appears that HTS is targeting Alawite women using the same ideological framework. 

A testimony from the heart of Idlib

Hiba Ezzedeen, a Syrian activist residing in Idlib, described in a now-deleted Facebook post her encounter with a woman who had been captured during a wave of massacres carried out by factions linked to Al-Jolani’s rule against Alawites in Syria’s coastal regions on March 7. The woman was then taken to Idlib as a sex slave. 

Hiba stated: "I saw her with a man who had been married several times before and is believed to currently have three wives. What caught my attention was the woman’s appearance. Specifically, it was clear she did not know how to properly wear the hijab, and her headscarf was loosely draped."

After extensive inquiries, Hiba Ezzedeen discovered that the woman was from Syria’s coastal areas, where the March 7 massacre, in which over 1,600 Alawite civilians were killed, had taken place. 

International reactions and deadly silence 

Despite similar reports of women being abducted in Syria by human rights organizations, the international community has yet to take significant action. The United Nations, in its latest report, mentioned "sectarian violence" in Syria but did not name Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. 

Below are some of the documented cases: 

- Carolis Nahla (Druze, February 2): Abducted in Damascus without a ransom demand. 

- Bushra Yasin Mafraj (Alawite, March 21): A mother of two whose husband released a video of her captivity in Idlib. 

- Nour Kamal Khidr (26 years old) and her two daughters (3 and 5 years old, April 21): Kidnapped by masked HTS-linked forces in Homs. 

The Lebanese media outlet Al-Daraj reported, as of April 17, at least 10 confirmed cases of Alawite women being abducted from Syria’s coastal regions. 

Al-Daraj also documented the case of an 18-year-old girl who was kidnapped in broad daylight from a coastal suburb in Syria. Her family later received a text message warning them to stay silent about her abduction—or else she would be returned dead. The girl later sent an audio message from an Ivorian-registered phone number, telling her family she was "fine" but unsure of her location. 

The Lebanese outlet compared these cases to the Yazidi genocide by DAESH in Sinjar. In 2014, over 6,400 Yazidis were enslaved by DAESH, thousands were trafficked to Syria and Turkey, sold as domestic or sex slaves, or trained for combat. Many remain missing to this day. 

In conclusion, these events not only deepen Syria’s human rights crisis but also sound the alarm for a recurrence of the atrocities committed by DAESH. The crucial question remains: Will the world once again stand witness to systematic crimes against women, and for how long?

MG