TARTUS, Syria — There are no official statistics regarding the number of Alawites who have lost their lives since the peaceful protests in Syria turned into an armed sectarian conflict in many areas of the country. Human rights organizations are not counting the victims in Syria on a sectarian basis.

However, in statistics published July 12, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights announced that 65,803 people from the ranks of the Syrian regime forces and armed groups loyal to it have died. It is likely that the vast majority of the dead are Alawites, especially among the militias fighting alongside regime forces.

A visit to the cities and rural areas inhabited by an Alawite majority suggests that the number of deaths may exceed this figure. There are thousands of photos posted on walls and hung at intersections of young men who have lost their lives in the war, and all of them include slogans in support of President Bashar al-Assad. In these areas, Alawite support for the Assad regime remains strong, as evidenced by the large number of portraits of Assad spread throughout the coastal region. But words of anguish are being quietly muttered in these corners of Syria, as the death toll among Alawites continues to rise.

Al-Monitor spoke with a young girl during the funeral for her brother, who was killed in a recent battle. She said, "In spite of everything, Assad is our choice and we will not back down on this. The conspiracy against Syria is huge and there is no substitute for Assad, with his political expertise and alliance with Russia and Iran. Without Assad, we will all meet a bad fate and perhaps be killed at the hands of terrorists in the same way that the soldiers of the 17th Regiment were killed in Raqqa."