Is Syria sliding into a sectarian civil war?   The current estimate is that 3,500 people have been killed so far.   Syria has several religious groups: Sunni Muslims, Christians and Alawites (an offshoot of Shiite Islam regarded as heterodox) are the most common.  The government of Bashar Assad (inherited from his father) are Alawite.  The Alawites are coming under attack because of this.

Here is a story from The New York Times,