Testimony of an Alawite Father from Hama Countryside on the Brutal Killing of His Son by HTS Jihadists

A heartbreaking testimony has emerged from a grieving Alawite father in the countryside of Hama, recounting the horrific murder of his son at the hands of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) jihadists.

On March 7, HTS militants stormed the village of Al-Rasafa in Masyaf countryside, raiding homes, humiliating and beating residents. The father’s eldest son was abducted, along with his younger, cancer-stricken child.

As the militants withdrew, another group intervened, questioning them about the sick child and returning him to the family. When the father asked about his eldest son, the jihadists responded that they would “interrogate him.”

Shortly after, the father received a call from his son’s phone. The voice on the other end mocked him:

“We sent him to Hafez al-Assad.”

Then, they told him where to find his son’s body, which they had dumped near the village barber shop—after ripping his heart out of his chest.

Despite the warnings from villagers and the horrors unfolding, the father went to retrieve his son’s body—only to find that the brutalized corpse was just as they had described.

This tragedy is yet another example of the relentless violence and sectarian persecution suffered by Alawite communities, many of whom live in extreme poverty and remain vulnerable to such atrocities.