Alawites in Syria Reside in Fear after Sunni Islamist Pogrom
Murad Makhmudov, Sawako Utsumi, and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
Alawites were already being killed in Syria by Sunni Islamists before the latest pogrom happened in Latakia and Tartus (Tatous) – and other areas (Hama and Homs provinces). According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 1,200 civilians (including some Christians) were killed. This happened when Sunni Islamists went on a killing spree against the Alawite minority (deaths also happened after the pogrom).
The Independent reports, “Mr Sharaa’s forces and rival groups have killed at least 1,200 civilians, most of them Alawites, in Latakia, Tatous, Hama and Homs provinces, according to Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The toll rose this week after 132 civilians were killed on Tuesday, the UK-based monitoring group said.”
On March 14, the United Nations said, “The Security Council today condemned the widespread violence perpetrated in Syria’s Latakia and Tartus provinces since 6 March — including mass killings of civilians among the Alawite community — calling on the interim authorities to protect all Syrians without distinction.”
The massacre of Alawite civilians by Sunni Islamists is setting off alarm bells within all minority communities. However, the hatred of Sunni Islamists against the Alawites is known. Therefore, during the conflict when President Bashar al-Assad was in power, various Sunni Islamists chanted “Christians to Beirut and Alawites to the grave.”
Sunni Islamists supporting the ruling elites of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Syria are seen on video laughing while searching for Alawites to kill. Hence, this highlights that the Islamic State (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda mentality of sectarian hatred exists within HTS.
Medya News reports, “The interim rule of Ahmed al-Sharaa (Abu Mohammad al-Julani) has so far excluded communities such as the Alawites, Druze, and Kurds from national conferences and decision-making processes. The Druze have declared autonomy, while the Kurds continue to push for a decentralized, democratic Syria.”
Marco Rubio (U.S. Secretary of State) after the pogrom said: “The United States condemns the radical Islamist terrorists, including foreign jihadis, that murdered people in western Syria in recent days. The United States stands with Syria’s religious and ethnic minorities, including its Christian, Druze, Alawite, and Kurdish communities, and offers its condolences to the victims and their families. Syria’s interim authorities must hold the perpetrators of these massacres against Syria’s minority communities accountable.”
The German Foreign Minister (Annalena Baerbock) recently met the interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (HTS) in Damascus. It was his forces and allies who butchered Alawites and Christians (Pogrom mainly killed Alawites).
Baerbock said, “It is imperative that extremist groups are brought under control and those responsible for crimes are held accountable.”
However, how can the Alawites and other minorities trust the HTS and the interim government given the recent pogrom – and the bloodletting before the recent pogrom began?
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