Tensions remain high on the Syrian coast following a series of brutal massacres that claimed the lives more than a thousand civilians from the Alawite minority, with reports suggesting that the forces of the country’s Islmist-led interim government are preparing a second crackdown against the so-called “remnants” of the Assad regime in the strategic region.
The Alawites are Syria’s largest religious minority. The family of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad belongs to the sect.
At least 1,614 civilians, mostly Alawites, were killed, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), in the last crackdown which began on March 6 when the Alawites rebelled on the coast following months of violations by government forces.
After facing international pressure, the Syrian government announced that all operations on the coast were over by March 10 and formed an investigation committee. However, the killings continued on a lower scale and no one was held accountable.
On March 23, the SOHR warned in a report that government forces deployed large reinforcements near the town of Arzona, which is located in the southern Tartus countryside, on a key highway leading to Tartus port, then to the cities of Banias, Jableh and Lattakia.
The reinforcements arrived in around 50 vehicles and included what the London-based monitoring group described as “Jihadists”.
Later, they occupied several houses in Azona and established a series of fortified positions up towards the town of al-Sheikh Saad in the northern Tartus countryside.
“The arrival of reinforcements raised residents’ fears of retaliatory security operations in the area,” the monitoring group warned.
On the same day, activists in Tartus reported the arrival of more reinforcements, including main tanks and armored fighting vehicles, in Banias.
Tensions picked up early on March 24, when additional reinforcements entered the area of Draykish in the eastern Tartus countryside, according to the SOHR. Videos posted to social networks showed the troops shooting at civilian houses, throwing hand grenades and chanting sectarian slurs in the heart of the area.
It’s worth noting that the SOHR documented on March 23 the killing of two men, both Alawites, in Homs, as well as the abduction of at least five other people from the minority group, including four women, near checkpoints manned by security forces along the coastal highway.
The recent developments show that the interim government is making no efforts whatsoever to address the concerns of the Alawites or engage with the group in any meaningful way.
The last crackdown displaced at least 16,000 Alawites to northern and eastern Lebanon with more that 8,000 others taking shelter at Russia’s Khmeimim Air Base near the city of Jableh in the countryside of Latakia. A new wave of escalation will likely displace many more and create a serious crisis for the country and its neighbors.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence
NOW hosted at southfront.press
Previously, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.org.
The .org domain name had been blocked by the US (NATO) (https://southfront.press/southfront-org-blocked-by-u-s-controlled-global-internet-supervisor/) globally, outlawed and without any explanation
Back before that, from 2013 to 2015, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.com