Syrian Alawites begin mass protests against government violence

Protesters were attacked and shot at by government forces, just days after a mosque bombing killed eight Alawites in Homs  

News Desk - The Cradle 

Syrian citizens of the Alawite minority sect took to the streets on 28 December to protest against government violence and sectarian persecution, in line with a call made by the community’s religious leader a day earlier. 

Members of the minority sect protested in the Alawite neighborhoods of the central governorate of Homs, and in several towns and cities on the country’s coast, including Tartous, Jableh, and Latakia.

Protests also erupted in Hama governorate, including in the city of Masyaf.

Alawite Syrians held up banners reading “Federalism is the solution” and “the blood of Alawites is not cheap,” among other slogans.

The protesters also expressed anger over the killing of eight Alawite civilians and the injury of over a dozen others in a terror blast at a mosque a few days earlier. 

According to local media reports, government forces have attacked protesters in several areas, firing live ammunition to disperse crowds and making arrests at random.

“A widespread arrest campaign by the General Security forces is targeting citizens at random, and commercial shops in the Wadi al-Zahab neighborhood have been closed,” said a correspondent for Sham TV.

A correspondent for Kurdish outlet Hawar News Agency (ANHA) said “women were physically assaulted in the Zahraa neighborhood of Homs, to prevent them from participating.”

“Government forces attempted to forcibly disperse the gathering and imposed a siege on the area, preventing protesters from entering or leaving the square. Several surrounding roads were also blocked. They also assaulted protesters with beatings and gunfire in the coastal cities of Jableh and Baniyas,” the outlet said.

There are also reports of casualties among demonstrators. According to the Syrian Justice Archive (SJA), at least three have been killed.

Some reports said protesters threw stones at security forces, while others claimed hand grenades were found on one of the detained demonstrators.

The leader of the Supreme Alawite Islamic Council Ghazal Ghazal made the call for mass protest on 27 December. 

“Our appointment [for protest] is tomorrow, Sunday, from 12:00 noon until 5:00 pm,” he said. 

“Silence over these crimes means nothing but more killing and collapse. The continuation of this situation without the implementation of swift, radical solutions and the imposition of international protection will only deepen the destruction they seek,” he added, calling for “every free and honorable person” to take part. 

Eight people were killed and 18 others injured, including children, in a bombing attack targeting an Alawite mosque in Homs on 26 December.

The blast hit Imam Ali Mosque in Homs’s Wadi al-Danab area during Friday prayer.

Thousands of Alawite civilians were massacred in March this year by Syrian government forces during a violent crackdown to quell an armed uprising carried out by members of the community and loyalists of the former government. 

Since then, the Alawite community has been disarmed by Damascus and has been left vulnerable to sectarian attacks and killing sprees. Young Alawite girls continue to disappear as a result of government-linked kidnapping networks, and Alawite men are regularly executed.

Thousands of Alawites took to the streets in protest across Syria’s coastal cities last month to demonstrate against government-sponsored sectarian violence. Security forces also shot at protesters.

The Syrian army is predominantly made up of what used to be known as the Al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Numerous other extremist factions with links to ISIS have been made official brigades in the new Syrian military since the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad’s government and the collapse of his army last year.

Christians and Druze have also been persecuted by forces affiliated with the Syrian Defense Ministry. 

After the killing of over 1,600 Alawite civilians in March, a government-appointed investigative committee released a report largely absolving Damascus from its direct role in the massacres. 

A similar probe was launched after hundreds of Druze civilians were killed in July during clashes between Druze militiamen and government troops. 

Groups affiliated with or incorporated into the Syrian army also have a long history of violent persecution against Kurds.

Government violence against minorities in Syria over the past year has prompted many to call for federalism, or the division of the country along sectarian lines. 

Observers have also speculated that Israel, which established a large-scale occupation in south Syria after Assad was ousted, has been pushing for federalism in a bid to divide Syria and keep it weak.

“Our door to communication is open to all states active in the Syrian file. We extend our hand to anyone who guarantees us the achievement of our goals and our right to self-determination,” Ghazal told The Cradle in an interview published last week.

“Federalism is linked to a set of political, field, regional, and international factors. It is not a decision taken unilaterally or quickly. However, we are working to accelerate the wheel of salvation in a safe and responsible manner, in light of the grave violations being committed against us by the de facto authority,” he added.