How the rebels treat the sizeable Alawite population, will be some kind of litmus test of whether the takeover of Damascus leads to violent revenge against former Assad loyalists

Syria’s minority Alawite community is gripped by terror as reports spread of killings and disappearances under the country’s new Islamist rulers.

Supporting Assad, himself an Alawite, was a matter not of loyalty or politics for this community, the regime insisted, but of choosing between existence and extinction. This narrative, and the fear of Sunni extremist groups such as the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra, kept many Alawites bound to Assad even as the cost became unbearable.

Amid an outcry for justice and accountability and threats online, a once-dominant group is feeling deep anxiety after the ouster of Syria’s dictator.

Syria's ousted dictator Bashar Assad and his family were members of the secretive religious minority, and used the community's fears and desires to stay in power.