Most of the dead are apparently from the Alawite community, who live largely in the country’s coastal province, including in the cities of Latakia and Tartous. Alawites, an ethnoreligious sect of Islam, make up about 10 percent of Syria’s population. Assad belonged to this sect, and under his rule, Syria's majority Sunni Muslims faced many atrocities. This fuelled hatred towards Alawites, some of whom are also affiliated with the crimes.