Two members of religious minority community abducted and killed in Homs

Two men belonging to the Al-Murshidi, or Al-Murshidiyyah, religious minority community were killed after being abducted from their workshop in the Al-Adawya neighbourhood of Homs, Syria on 13 June.

CSW’s sources confirm that Hadi Mouhammad Qasem and Mouhammad Walid Darwish, both aged 19, were abducted from their workshop on 13 June by unidentified armed men who stole money, a laptop and a motorcycle, and destroyed other equipment. A few hours later, their dead bodies were found in the Al-Khaldya neighbourhood of Homs with signs of gunshot wounds and torture.

A few days before this incident, a group of armed men entered Murshidi village in Al-Ghassaneih near Homs and shouted sectarian insults against the Murshidi people whilst firing their guns in the air. They also desecrated some religious symbols in the village.

The Al-Murshidiyyah is a Syrian religious community which emerged in the 1940s as an offshoot of the Alawi/Nusayri sect. There are no official statistics about the number of adherents, but several reports estimate the community comprises approximately 300,000 persons living primarily in the Western Syrian Provinces of Homs, Latakia and Tarsus, and in some suburbs of Damascus.

On 14 June, hundreds of Murshidi people held a silent protest in the city centre of Homs and demanded protection and justice.

A prominent Murshidi community leader, who cannot be named for his protection, told CSW: ‘We are a small peaceful community, we are not involved in any political or military activities and we just want to be left alone and live peacefully. Assad’s regime neglected our areas and kept us poor and now we are being targeted by extremists. Over 60 Murshidis have been assassinated since the fall of Assad. This should stop.’

CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas said: ‘CSW extends our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of Hadi Mouhammad Qasem and Mouhammad Walid Darwish. We are appalled by the senseless murder of these two innocent young men who had their whole lives ahead of them, and the desecration of Murshidi religious symbols. The Syrian government must show zero tolerance for sectarian incitement and step up efforts to protect the Murshidi people, along with all religious and ethnic minorities. The perpetrators of this terrible act must be brought to justice and the Syrian authorities must be encouraged to fulfil commitments they made in the constitutional declaration, which contains pledges guaranteeing freedom of religion or belief and the fundamental rights of Syrians.’