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An armed rebellion broke out on the Syrian coast on March 6 with a large paramilitary force mainly made up of former Syrian Arab Army (SAA) fighters from the Alawite minority attacking Syrian government forces in both Latakia and Tartus.
The Alawites, an offshoot of Islam Shiite, are Syria’s largest minority group. The family of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad belongs to the sect.
The confrontation began when the security forces of the new government were conducting an operation in the southern countryside of Latakia. The security personnel were trying to arrest an official from the Assad regime by force. Upon leaving the town, Beit Aana, the government forces were ambushed by local fighters and several were killed.
The ambush sparked additional clashes between government forces and fighters affiliated with the Assad regime in Beit Ana and surrounding areas.
Government forces used artillery and even used helicopters to shell the town, causing most of the civilians to flee into nearby farms.
The attack on Beit Ana prompted protests across the Syrian coast, with thousands pouring into the streets of the cities of Latakia, Jableh and Tartus, calling for government forces to withdraw from the coast and for the downfall of Ahmad al-Sharaa, who headed the country after the fall of the Assad regime. Security forces met the protestors with live fire.
Soon after, the situation developed even further when a force dubbed the Military Council for the Liberation of Syria announced the beginning of a full-on rebellion to overthrow the current government, which was appointed by the Islamist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham.
The commander of the force was revealed to be Gaith Dala, a former senior commander of the SAA’s elite 4th Division. Dala went missing after the final battle that saw the collapse of the Assad regime last December. His reappearance encouraged many former soldiers and officers as well as armed local Alawites to launch attacks against government forces from Latakia to Jableh and Tartus.
By the evening, the rebels managed to block many roads in the coast, and imposed controls of key areas, including the Naval Academy, the vicinity of the Russian Khmeimim Air Base and the 107 Regiment base close to Jableh. In addition, the area of al-Qardaha was said to be under their complete control.
Nevertheless, the situation shifted overnight as government forces began to use armed quadcopter drones and send massive reinforcements to the coast from central Syria. In addition, authorities announced a curfew on the coast. Protests by people who support the new government also erupted in major cities, including Homs and Idlib.
By the morning, Tartus and Latakia came back under the control of government forces, while clashes continued well into the evening in Jableh and al-Qardaha.
News of major violations and war crimes by government forces, including massacres in Tartus and Latakia, began to surface on social networks later in the day.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) confirmed that massacres took place in Latakia city and the towns of al-Haffa, al-Mukhtariyah and al-Shir, with at least 68 people killed. The London-based monitoring group also said that 78 others were killed since the beginning of the rebellion on the coast, including 37 personnel of government forces, 34 rebels and seven civilians.
Footage posted to social networks indicate that the vast majority of the victims were unarmed civilians, including teenagers and elderly men. The number is clearly way larger than what was reported by the SOHR.
More incidents were reported by activists in other areas. In the city of Banias in Tartus entire families were reportedly killed and in the town of Arzeh in Hama pro-government protesters killed multiple locals. All the victims belonged to the Alawite sect.
As the humanitarian situation on the Syrian coast was completely ignored by the mainstream media and the West, local Alaiwtes held a protest near Khmeimim Air Base demanding protection from Russia. Others even took to social media demanding Israel to intervene, as it had vowed to protect the Druze minority in southern Syria before.
It’s worth noting that in the months following the fall of the Assad regime, the Syrian government refused to integrate Alawites into the new military and security forces, or even to pardon those who were serving the former regime. In addition, thousands and thousands of government employees were released from their jobs, further worsening the economic situation on the coast.
While the West has been so far silent about the violations on the Syrian coast, it could very soon use the rebellion as a pretext to pressure the new government or even to intervene directly. Israel could also step in to secure a foothold on the shores of Syria, close to the main supply routes of Hezbollah passing through Tartus and nearby Homs.
The Syrian government failure to integrate the Alawites, or at least to provide them with security could turn out to be a very costly mistake. If the coast separates on its own or with some international help, Syria will cease to exist as it is.
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