Syrian Militants Enslaving Alawite Women in Idlib amid Surge in Militant Violence
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Dozens of young Alawite women have reportedly been abducted and enslaved by militants in Syria's Idlib governorate since December, following the takeover of Damascus by the former Al-Qaeda affiliate Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), according to a report by The Cradle.
Since December, Syria has seen a sharp increase in kidnappings targeting young women from the Alawite community, coinciding with the rise of HTS to power.
HTS, which seized Damascus on December 8 after a rapid offensive beginning in Aleppo, has facilitated the abduction and trafficking of these women to Idlib, a stronghold of the group.
According to The Cradle, the abductions bear resemblance to the 2014 genocide in Iraq, during which thousands of Yezidi women were enslaved by Daesh (ISIL or ISIS).
Syrian activist Hiba Ezzedeen recounted an encounter in Idlib where she met a woman believed to have been taken during the March 7 massacres in coastal Alawite areas.
“During my last visit to Idlib, I was at a place with my brother when I saw a man I knew with a woman I had never met before,” Ezzedeen wrote in a now-deleted Facebook post.
“This man had been married multiple times before and is believed to currently have three wives,” she said.
“What caught my attention was the woman’s appearance—specifically, it was clear she didn’t know how to wear a hijab properly, and her scarf was draped haphazardly.”
Ezzedeen said she later discovered the woman was from the same Alawite coastal areas where the massacres occurred.
“This man had brought her to the village and married her, with no further details available. No one knew what had happened to her or how she got there, and naturally, the young woman was too afraid to speak,” she added.
Inquiries made by Ezzedeen revealed that the kidnappings were not isolated.
“Unfortunately, many confirmed that this had indeed happened, and not just by one faction. Based on what friends said, accusations point to factions of the National Army and some foreign fighters, with varying motives,” she reported.
Since taking control of Damascus, HTS has integrated extremist elements, including parts of the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army (SNA), into the military and government.
Many former SNA and foreign fighter leaders now hold top posts in the HTS-run ministry of defense.
These factions are believed to have played a key role in the March 7 massacres, where militants executed military-aged men and, in many cases, killed women, children, and the elderly in Alawite areas.
Ezzedeen concluded, “This is a serious issue that cannot be ignored. The government must immediately reveal the fate of these women and release them.”
Following her statements, the HTS-appointed governor of Idlib issued an arrest warrant for Ezzedeen, accusing her of “insulting the hijab.”
Since the HTS-led administration took power, it has been accused of widespread human rights abuses, particularly against Syria’s Alawite minority.
At least 42 Alawites have been killed in the last two weeks alone, following the massacre of approximately 1,700 community members last month.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that the killings, which intensified on March 7, have shifted from mass executions to more targeted acts of violence.
