Three Dead, Dozens Injured After Alawites Stage Protest Against Syrian Government
Syria’s Islamist government and independent human rights groups reported Monday that three people were killed and dozens injured during an Alawite-led protest calling for Damascus to establish a less centrally controlled federalist system.
The violence erupted during what was billed as a “peaceful” protest in Latakia, a coastal region of Syria traditionally known for being home to large numbers of Alawite Muslims and previously a stronghold of the defunct regime of former dictator Bashar Assad. The Alawites are a minority sect within Shiite Islam and, through the Assad family, have ruled Syria for more than half a century.
The Assad regime collapsed in December 2024 when Assad and his family fled and were granted political asylum in Moscow. His regime was replaced by the jihadist terrorist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a branch of Al-Qaeda which besieged Aleppo in November 2024 and ultimately caused the dismantling of the Syrian army and thus won the civil war which had ravaged the country since 2011.
Current Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, formerly known by the jihadist pseudonym “Abu Mohammed al-Jolani”, was the leader of HTS. He disbanded the organization and is now integrating its fighters into a reconstructed Syrian army. While spending most of his time at war as a radical Islamist, Sharaa repeatedly declared his intention to build an “inclusive” Islamist government that would tolerate the existence of minority groups, such as Christians and Kurds. He nevertheless implemented an explicitly Islamist constitution and has defended Islamist governments in interviews.
Under Sharia law, Damascus struggled to maintain friendly relations with non-Arab Sunni Muslims. While making public overtures to Christians, Sharaa failed to convince the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a predominantly Kurdish militia allied with the United States, to accept him as commander-in-chief, while terrorists associated with the former HTS repeatedly attacked Alawite communities throughout the year. The Alawites have denounced constant violent attacks perpetrated by jihadists affiliated with the regime for months, including by official security forces filming against civilian demonstrators.
The latest outbreak of violence occurred on Sunday after Sheikh Ghazal Ghazal, the head of the Supreme Alawite Islamic Council in Syria and the diaspora, called for Alawites to participate in national demonstrations on Sunday. Ghazal accused Shara’a governments and their loosely associated militias of “identity-based killings” and warned: “Continuation of this situation without the implementation of rapid and radical solutions and the imposition of international protection will only deepen the destruction they seek.” »
Ghazal called for the implementation of a federalist system that would allow Alawites some autonomy within the national framework and urged his supporters to engage in peaceful protests. This call was received most loudly in Latakia, where the largest demonstrations took place.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a London-based monitor, three people deceased amid “considerable repression by security forces” against the Latakia protest, including a bystander identified as Zain Al-Abideen Azzam Hussein who was reportedly shot dead while walking home and did not participate in the protest. This report largely matched media coverage by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), which reported three deaths and 60 injured. Syrian media reported that one of those killed was a Syrian government security force official.
Contrary to the SOHR report, which blamed government-associated “security” for attacking protesters, SANA claimed that “remnants of the fallen regime attacked security forces” during the protest, necessitating a kinetic response. SANA further claimed that a mob of “remnants” attacked ambulances and other official vehicles and that terrorists associated with former senior Assad officials were present.
“During the protests at al-Azhari roundabout, shots were reportedly fired into the air by masked gunmen, while security forces contained the situation and restored order,” according to SANA. The SOHR suggested that security forces had begun openly attacking peaceful protesters, provoking clashes. Following the incident, SOHR reported that “predominantly Alawite neighborhoods were attacked last night by pro-government individuals, who insulted members of the Alawite community.”
Monday, SOHR reported other incidents of violence and repression against Alawites elsewhere in the country, including security patrols reportedly making arrests in Alawite neighborhoods in Hama.
The Syrian government has insisted it is not persecuting political dissidents, but tracking potential terrorists seeking to reignite the civil war.
“We urge our citizens in the coastal region not to fall for calls that appear to be protests but conceal armed activities,” said an unnamed interior ministry official. quoted as said in SANA. “The arrest of members of armed groups linked to the remnants of the deposed regime demonstrates the true objective of these calls for protest and incitement against internal security forces. »
The demonstration followed bombardment from an Alawite mosque in Homs on Friday, the Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque, which killed at least eight people – adding to growing fears in the country that Alawites, because of their association with Assad, are not safe in the country. Sharaa’s government condemned the bombing, but said the violence was the result of “the convergence of remnants of the old regime, IS militants and its collaborators toward a single goal: to obstruct the path of the new state by undermining stability, threatening civil peace and eroding the coexistence and common destiny of Syrians throughout history.” The message effectively undermined Alawite – and Kurdish, and in some cases Christian – calls for a federalist system, supporting instead the imposition of full government control from Damascus.
The bombing of the Alawite mosque was particularly notable given that it occurred during Christmas week, a time when jihadists traditionally target Christians, not other Muslims, even those of different faiths. Before the Christmas holidays, the SOHR, which did not hesitate to report facts that negatively portray the Sharaa government, reported that Sharaa had increased the deployment of security forces around churches and other areas where Christians were known to congregate. The SANA webpage was filled with reports showing Christians joyfully lighting Christmas trees and celebrating the holiday, especially in Latakia.
Following Sunday’s deaths, an unverified message appeared on social media, allegedly from Ghazal Ghazal, urging Alawites to no longer voice public complaints or join protests, but instead to stay home for their safety.
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