Syrian 'Security Forces' Shoot at Protesters in Alawite Stronghold

Syrian security forces used gunfire on Tuesday to disperse feuding groups of protesters in Latakia, a coastal town in the area dominated by the once-influential, but now persecuted, Alawite religious minority.

The Alawites are a minority sect of Shiite Islam that counted the two dictators of the Assad dynasty, founder Hafez Assad and his son Bashar, as members.

Ever since Bashar Assad was overthrown in December 2024, the Alawite community has feared reprisals from other Syrian groups who believe they were privileged under Assad rule. Some elements of the coalition that deposed Bashar Assad also believe the Alawite community has many loyalists to the old regime who will seek to subvert the new government.

The Alawites are deeply concerned about being blamed for the murder of a Sunni Muslim Bedouin couple in the central Syrian city of Homs on Sunday. Syrian state media reported the man was stoned to death and his wife was burned alive. “Sectarian slogans” were allegedly written in the blood of the victims on the walls of buildings near the site of the attack.

Soon after the murders were reported, a mass of armed Bedouin tribesman assaulted the Alawite community in Homs, peppering the area with gunfire and setting fire to houses and cars. Alawites across the country were furious that security forces did little to halt the Bedouin rampage, although police were seen helping residents evacuate after their houses were set ablaze, and a curfew was eventually imposed on Homs.

Officials from the central government said there was “no material evidence” to prove the killing of the Bedouin couple was an act of political violence, and one security official suggested the murders might have been a false flag attack with the goal of “fueling sectarian divisions and undermining stability in the region.”

The Alawites Association of the United States (AAUS) issued a press release on Thursday denouncing the violence in Homs, which they said also included attacks on Christians.

“Reports from the ground, along with widely circulated videos, show waves of armed men attacking residential areas, destroying property, and terrorizing civilians,” the AAUS said.

“These shocking scenes represent a grave act of barbarism and a violation of international humanitarian norms. The targeted nature of these attacks underscores the vulnerability of Alawites and other minorities during this period of instability,” the statement said.

The AAUS called on the Trump administration to intervene and “ensure the safety and protection of Alawite civilians.” President Donald Trump has been supportive of Syria’s interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa and has worked to secure relief from U.S. and international sanctions against Syria.

The AAUS statement called for “decentralized governance where communities can live in dignity and prosperity,” an idea echoed by the Alawite protesters who assembled in Latakia on Tuesday.

The Druze and the Kurds have expressed similar sentiments. Sharaa and his government strenuously oppose requests for autonomy, insisting Syria must function as one nation under the rule of the Islamist junta that overthrew Assad.

The situation in Latakia grew tense when supporters of the central government assembled and began hurling insults at the Alawites. After about an hour of this increasingly bitter confrontation, witnesses reported hearing gunfire. Videos verified by international media showed at least one wounded man lying motionless on the ground.

Accusations flew between both sides about who did the shooting, but provincial officials claimed it was initially security forces firing into the air to disperse the rival demonstrations. Unknown persons then allegedly fired their own weapons, targeting both civilians and security personnel.

Similar demonstrations were held in several other towns, effectively demanding autonomous government for the Alawites because the central authority in Damascus cannot ensure their safety.

According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a total of 42 demonstrations were held across Syria on Tuesday, prompted by a demand for federalism and an end to “ethnic cleansing” by influential Alawite leader Sheikh Ghazal Ghazal. Some observers called it the largest political mobilization of Alawites since the fall of Assad.

“The scale of participation shows the growing frustration of Alawite communities along the coast. People are tired of being targeted and ignored,” a Latakia resident told the Syriac Press.

A demonstration of sympathy and solidarity with the Alawites was held in the primarily Druze city of Suwayda on Wednesday. The demonstrators said the plight of the Alawites was disturbingly reminiscent of the crackdown on protests by the Assad regime that began the Syrian Civil War in 2011.