Qassem* lies on a stretcher in a vacant flat in northern Lebanon, with a bullet hole in his hip and a terrible fear for the rest of his family.
The farmer, a member of the Alawite religious sect who lives in Syria's coastal region, was brought to Lebanon after being shot earlier this month in his fields.
"I was outdoors with my cows. I heard heavy gunfire from armed men. Those who kill and eliminate all Alawites. Our village is mainly Alawite, and they wanted to kill us all," he said.
"I was hit and I fell. Had they known I was not dead and only injured, they would have finished me.
"Some people fled; some came to my rescue. We all escaped to Lebanon."
Qassem's home was among the many majority-Alawite villages attacked by armed groups linked to Syria's new government between March 6–10.
The former regime of ousted Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad was dominated by Alawites and some of those supporters remain.
Those armed remnants of the Assad regime recently launched an insurgency in the coastal provinces against the new government and killed security forces.
The targeting of Alawites is in response to those attacks.
Thousands of fighters — including loosely organised armed groups and volunteers — raced to the region to put down the uprising, believed to have been led by a senior intelligence officer in the Assad regime.
Members of the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shia Islam, were among the key figures in Bashar al-Assad's government, military and security services, even though Alawites only make up around 10 per cent of Syria's population.
Violence drives Alawites to Lebanon
Hundreds of Alawite civilians — particularly men — are reported to have been killed during the government's response, with new Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa admitting "violations" occurred and promising an investigation.
Thousands of Alawites have since fled into northern Lebanon, where there is little support to be found.
"Refugees have been arriving in increasing numbers since March 8, particularly from regions like Latakia, Tartous, Banyas, Hanita, Taatour, and others; areas where massacres have occurred," Adbelhamid Sakr, the mayor of Tel Bire, told the ABC.
"We're doing our best to set up tents and accommodate the growing number of refugees, but we're overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the crisis. We simply don't have the capacity to host everyone."
More than 200 refugees are sheltering at the municipality office in Tel Bire.
They told the ABC they believed they would be killed if they returned to Syria.
"We used to support the regime of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. He is Alawite. Just because they are angry against Bashar al-Assad. They are now targeting all Alawites and want to exterminate them all," refugee Khalid al-Mahmoud said.
"We are afraid and we cannot go back to Syria without safety. We urge the international community to help safeguard the Alawite sect.
"Alawites have fled, their children have been executed, young men died and the women have been raped. It is appalling."
Syrian government promises justice
Syria's new president has conceded that the violence has set back efforts to unify the country and avoid sectarian conflict, but he has promised that the killers of civilians will be punished.
"We do not accept the unjust shedding of blood, nor will we allow such blood-shedding to go unpunished. No matter who is responsible, whether they are close to us or distant, there is no difference in this regard. Attacking people's dignity, blood, or property is a red line in Syria," Ahmad al-Sharaa told Reuters on March 10.
"The incident that occurred two days ago will impact our progress, but we will work to restore stability as much as possible. A committee has been formed to preserve civil peace and reconciliation because bloodshed only leads to more bloodshed."
Mr al-Sharaa said an independent commission had been formed to investigate violence, and the new Syrian government said several people had already been arrested.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights, a monitoring organisation, said that groups linked to the Assad regime had killed at least 211 civilians and 172 members of the new government's security forces.
It found that Syrian security forces and affiliated but "unregulated" groups killed 420 civilians and disarmed fighters.
The Guardian cited the network's founder as identifying the Abu Amsha and Hamzat divisions, two rebel groups that were not directly controlled by the new government, although it has been trying to incorporate them into its armed forces.
A CNN investigation identified a man dressed in the uniform of the Hayat Tahrir al Sham group, the organisation that was led by Syria's new president and is considered a terrorist group by the Australian government, as celebrating the killing of Alawites in one village, suggesting other elements of the new security forces were involved as well.
Some people told the ABC that fighting was ongoing, despite the government saying the situation had been contained.
Too afraid to return
Residents reached by phone were reluctant to be identified for fear of reprisals.
One man told the ABC he had lost his brother, father and uncle in the killings.
"I saw with my own eyes more than 400 bodies," he said
"Corpses were everywhere, in the streets, in the houses and on the roofs of buildings. It depended on the platoon's method and why. But often it was on the roofs of houses, where residents were gathered on the roof of the building and forced to kneel.
"They were killed by a shot to the head in most cases. They shot at anyone they saw or who tried to reach the bodies. I saw the murdered bodies. There was no fighting when they arrived [but] the killing continued for days. I heard them killing inside homes and women screaming, I watched them shoot."
Alawites who have fled Syria say they do not believe the government is genuine in its intent to punish those responsible for the killings.
Qassem is not sure what to do now and is afraid to return to his farm.
"I am afraid they could kill me, kill my children, and the people of my village. I am afraid they could kill all Alawites," he said.
*Name has been changed to protect his identity
