File image.
Tens of thousands of Alawites took to the streets on the Syrian coast, the heartland of the community, and in several parts of the country’s central region on December 28, two days after a mosque bombing killed eight people.
The protests came after calls from prominent spiritual leader Ghazal Ghazal, head of the Islamic Alawite Council in Syria and Abroad, who a day earlier urged people to “show the world that the Alawite community cannot be humiliated or marginalized.”
Protesters carried pictures of Ghazal along with banners expressing support for him, while chanting calls for a federal system in Syria. They also raised the flag of the Alawite State, which was established on the coast between 1920 and 1936 as a part of the French mandate at the time.
This was by far the largest wave of protests by the Alawites since the fall of the regime of former President Bashar al-Assad, a member of the community, last year.
The protests quickly turned violence, with the state-run SANA news agency reporting that three people were killed and 60 were wounded in attacks on security forces and civilians “by remnants of the defunct regime” during the protests in the coastal city of Latakia.
SANA claims were challenged by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which said that security forces killed two people, and released footage of them opening fire at the protestors at the al-Azhari roundabout in Latakia.
Other videos that surfaced online revealed that many armed supporters of the Islamist-led government had also attacked the protesters.
There was also a video showing a car, reportedly driven by security personnel, remaining over a number of protestors in Latakia.
In the coastal city of Tartus, security forces dispersed the protesters with tear gas and live fire, wounding at least one person.
The protests come two days after a bombing at an Alawite mosque in the central city of Homs killed eight people and wounded 18 others during prayers. A group calling itself Saraya Ansar Al Sunna claimed responsibility in a statement posted on its Telegram channel, in which it indicated that the attack was sectarian motivated.
The Alawites staged a smaller wave of protests on the coast and nearby areas in the central region on November 25 to demand an end to sectarian-based discrimination and violence that began after the fall of the Assad regime.
That was the first time Alawites took to the street to protest since March, when government forces cracked down on an armed uprising by members of the community and ended up killing over 1,400 Alawite civilians in a series of horrendous massacres.
The government bid to subdue the Alawites by force has clearly failed. This is evident by the scale of the latest protests. Still, there is no sign that the government is willing to engage the Alawites in any meaningful way.
Since the fall of the Assad regime close to a year ago, the community has been largely excluded from the government structure on both the lower and higher levels, with no representation for the community whatsoever in the military and security forces.
In addition, the government refuses to release thousands of Alawites, including former and officers, who have been arrested since the fall of the regime.
With change in government policy, the Alawites will likely continue to escalate, especially on the coast where they make up the majority of the population.
The community is currently incapable of committing to a full rebellion, or an armed insurgency, as it has no backers or clear alliances. However, it is now organized, with Ghazal as the de-facto leader. The situation could shift in the near future in favor of the Alawites, especially if the tensions between the government and other minorities, namely the Kurds and Druze, escalated into confrontations.
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active combat is reported on several fronts. south of vilcha, russian units are advancing; west of liman, they captured five strong points…………………… https://ln.run/iemhw
israel wanted exactly this:to kill normal people with theirs trusty wahhabi freks.
interestingly this is the same tool american mercenary snipers used in ukraine, iraq, iran, libya, burkina faso, syria, isis al qaeda are all american israeli english constructs!
they didnt want to fight and defend the coast, kurds and druze did it.