Lebanon could be on the brink of a “massive” new refugee crisis if massacres of the Alawite minority in Syria continue, Lebanese MP Haydar Nasr has told The National. Independent MP Mr Nasr, who comes from the Alawite community in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli,

Syria has suffered its worst bloodshed since Bashar al-Assad was toppled from power, with more than 1,000 people reported killed in violence that has swept the coastal region since Thursday.

Once empowered by the regime, many Alawites now face reprisals from rebel factions and displaced Sunni populations who suffered under Assad's rule.

Over 1,200 dead as ‘mass killing’ of Alawites continues despite Syrian leader’s call for peace - Sharaa's government urged to investigate targeted killings of hundreds of civilians in Alawite villages

The killings occurred in the heartland of Syria’s Alawite minority, escalating after a nascent insurgency formed against the Sunni Islamist government.

Assad's régime in Syria, the new government, led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, have drawn international condemnation for a four day spiral of violence in the regions of Latakia and Tartus. When a group of gunmen loyal to Assad ambushed Syrian security forces,