By Suleiman Al-Khalidi

ALEPPO, Syria/AMMAN (Reuters) -Syria on Tuesday began the first trial of suspects in a wave of bloodshed in March during which pro-government fighters killed hundreds of members of the Alawite minority - a case seen as a test of President Ahmed al-Sharaa's promise of accountability.

Judicial sources said the group of a dozen defendants was evenly split between people alleged to have taken part in attacks on Alawite communities, and others accused of taking part in attacks on government forces by militias loyal to ousted former president Bashar al-Assad, which sparked the violence.

The bloodshed marked one of the worst eruptions of violence since Sunni Islamist rebels led by Sharaa toppled Assad, a member of the Alawite minority, in December, ending 54 years of autocratic rule by the Assad family.

CHARGES INCLUDE........

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