🌅 Good Morning! Here is your latest news update.
The BBC hears harrowing accounts of assaults appearing to target the sect of former President Assad.
Watch LiveBritish Broadcasting CorporationHomeNewsSportBusinessTechnologyHealthCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveDocumentariesHomeNewsUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessWorld of BusinessTechnology of BusinessNYSE Opening BellTechnologyWatch DocumentariesArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindHealthWatch DocumentariesCultureWatch DocumentariesFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsWatch DocumentariesArts in MotionTravelWatch DocumentariesDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthWatch DocumentariesScienceNatural WondersClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingAudioPodcast CategoriesRadioAudio FAQsVideoWatch DocumentariesBBC MaestroDiscover the WorldLiveLive NewsLive SportDocumentariesHomeNewsSportBusinessTechnologyHealthCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveDocumentariesWeatherNewslettersWatch LiveI would scream in my sleep: Women from Syria's Alawite minority tell of kidnap and rape5 hours agoShareSaveBBC News ArabicShareSaveBBCWarning: This report contains accounts of sexual assault and violence that some readers may find distressing.
Ramia was preparing for a family picnic, on a warm summer day in her village in Latakia province in western Syria, when a white car drove up, she said.
Three armed men got out, saying they were government security forces, and dragged her into the vehicle, the teenager, whose name has been changed for her safety and to protect her identity, told the BBC World Service.
The men beat her, she said, hitting her harder when she started crying and screaming.
"One of them asked if I was Sunni or Alawite. When I said Alawite, they began insulting the sect," she added.
Ramia is one of dozens of women reported kidnapped since the fall of the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
The Syrian Feminist Lobby (SFL), an advocacy group for women's rights, says it has recorded reports - from families, media and other sources - of more than 80 women who have gone missing. It says it has confirmed 26 of those cases to be kidnappings.
Nearly all those reported missing are members of the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shia Islam that makes up about 10% of Syria's population and to which the ousted president belongs.
Two Alawite women and the families of three others have shared details of abduction and assault with the BBC. All their names have all been changed for reasons of privacy and safety.
All of them said the interim government's General Security Service - which is responsible for policing - had failed to investigate fully. One says its officers mocked her when she reported her ordeal.
The interior ministry's spokesman said in November that it had investigated 42 alleged kidnappings, and found all but one were "false". When contacted by the BBC, it said it had no further comment. However, a security source told the BBC that kidnappings had occurred, including some involving members of the security service, who he said had been dismissed.
The kidnappings and disappearances recorded by the SFL span a period from February 2025 to early December. This is both before and after March, when more than 1
0 Comments