AhlulBayt News Agency: Several hundred people took to the streets of Latakia, Syria’s coastal city and the heartland of the Alawite minority, on Tuesday to denounce recent attacks against their community.
According to Mehr, the demonstrations come nearly a year after the ouster of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad—himself an Alawite—by an alliance led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Since then, the Alawite community has faced repeated assaults, including sectarian massacres in March that left hundreds dead, according to AFP.
Protesters in Latakia chanted slogans such as “The Syrian people are one” and “To the whole world, listen to us, the Alawites will not bend.” Security forces were deployed but did not intervene.
“We are one united people. We want armed factions in the region to leave, justice for our martyrs on the coast, and the release of our prisoners… We don’t know what they are accused of,” said Joumana, a 58-year-old lawyer, who declined to give her family name.
Smaller gatherings were also reported in other areas. The protests—the largest in Alawite regions since Assad’s fall—were organized following a call on social media by the Supreme Islamic Alawite Council in Syria and Abroad.
Authorities said sectarian violence in March claimed at least 1,426 Alawite lives after clashes erupted with Assad loyalists targeting government forces. A war monitor put the death toll at more than 1,700.
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