The sectarianism that ended up coloring the Syrian civil war has already become the main challenge for the country’s new authorities a couple of weeks after the fall of the dictator Bashar al Assad. Although the hostilities between the militias sponsored by Turkey and the troops of the autonomous Kurdish entity have not ceased, currently, the epicenter of tensions is rather in the northwest region, with a majority Alawites, a sect derived from Shiism to which which belonged to Assad. On Wednesday, tense demonstrations took place in several cities in the area, as well as in the suburbs of Damascus, and 14 members of the security forces under the orders of the interim Government of Damascus died in an ambush carried out by an armed group linked to the former regime in the province of Tartus.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), General Mohamed Kengo Hassan is behind this outbreak of violence. The ambush occurred, according to known data, after a patrol of security forces affiliated with Hayat Tahrir al Sham, the Islamist militia that led the offensive against Assad and controls the Government of Damascus, headed to a town near Tartús to arrest a former senior official of Military Justice who is attributed with the death of thousands of people in the Saidnaya prison. A group of men prevented the patrol from entering the village of Jirbat al-Maaza, and then organized the ambush. Three of the assailants also died in the confrontation.
This incident occurred after a week of increasing tension in the majority Alawite region following the arrest of several former army officers, as well as the dismissal from their jobs of hundreds of officials from the Alawite minority. Now, the spark that ignited the indignation of the community and caused thousands of people to demonstrate in the streets on Wednesday night was the publication on social networks of the video of the assault on the shrine of Abu Abdala Hussein al Jasibi, one of the founders of the Alawite sect. In the video, the sanctuary is shown in flames and the corpses of several of the temple’s guardians.
During the demonstrations, held in cities such as Banias, Latakia and Homs, there were altercations with the security forces, who attempted to disperse the concentrations by force. The day resulted in dozens of arrests and injuries, as well as one death in the city of Homs. As a consequence, the authorities decreed a curfew from 8:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. in the three aforementioned cities and sent reinforcements to the area. The next day calm had been restored in all of them.
According to a statement from the Ministry of the Interior, the video corresponds to the fighting that took place in the lightning offensive that overthrew Assad, about three weeks ago, and its dissemination now aims to “stir up conflicts within the Syrian people in this delicate stage.” For its part, the institution that guards the temple has issued a statement in which it reports that it is in contact with the authorities to “prevent these acts,” and urges the population to “remain calm, patient, and unified to preserve civil peace.” Several Alawite clerics have also called for restraint.
“There is concern in the Alawite community about the future. It is not right that many officials, especially Alawites, have been fired from their jobs. Not all Alawites supported El Assad,” says Joseph, a sculptor from the city of Tartus, who is concerned about the possibility that the militants of HTS, which was an affiliate of Al Qaeda until 2017, form the bulk of the Armed Forces. of the new Syria. On the other hand, the Alawite community was overrepresented in the security forces, especially among the upper echelons of the army.
While a feeling of security reigns in the capital of Damascus, in other provinces, and especially in rural areas, there have been dozens of violent incidents. According to the OSDH, the number of violent deaths since December 8, the day of Assad’s escape, rises to 778, many of them involved in “confusing situations.” Critics of Ahmed al Shara, the leader of HTS, believe his men are carrying out covert executions, such as the murder of three Alawite judges in Homs. Instead, authorities have attributed them to robberies, individual acts of revenge, as well as an attempt by small armed groups loyal to the former regime to cause chaos in the country.
This narrative has been reinforced by the controversial statements made by the Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi. “I think it is still too early to judge, both for us and for others who believe that they have achieved a victory in Syria,” the foreign minister said, something that his Syrian counterpart, the newly appointed Assad Hassan al Shibani, denounced as an attempt to “causing chaos” and inciting former Assad supporters to use violence. Iran and Russia were the great pillars of support for the old regime, while Turkey was the main support for the opposition militias, especially during the last years of the conflict.
Although the Christian community has been able to celebrate Christmas without any notable incident, misgivings about its future also abound within it. Last Tuesday, thousands of Christians took to the streets to demand that their freedom of worship be protected after in a town in the province of Hama several Uzbek militiamen from an Islamist group set fire to a Christmas tree installed in a public square. . The authorities proceeded to arrest the culprits and assured that they would be “duly punished.” In an effort to curry favor with Christians, the interim government declared December 25 and 26 public holidays throughout the country.
For years, the Assad regime instilled among the country’s minorities the idea that its overthrow would involve a bloodbath, and boasted of being the only secular regime in the region. “The regime was not really secular, it was just propaganda. Their secret services even supervised church sermons. The only true cult was the Baath party,” commented veteran journalist Rifaat Shemes before entering Christmas mass at the headquarters of the Maronite diocese of Damascus.
