The situation in Syria has remained tense while security forces battle gunmen loyal to ex-president Bashar al-Assad and attacks continue against the Alawite minority to which he belongs.
The ruling Sunni fundamentalist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has halted the four-day massacre that killed hundreds of Alawite civilians but has not restored security in the Alawite region.
Alawites constitute Syria’s largest minority and account for about 10 per cent of the population. The Assad connection has made Alawites the main target of anti-Assad militias since HTS seized control of Syria three months ago.
Alawites, also known as Nusayris, split from Shia Islam in the ninth century. Ethnic Arabs who revere the Koran but have developed their own texts and theology, they believe in reincarnation and consume alcohol, unlike mainstream Muslims. Since they do not share their beliefs with outsiders, they are regarded with suspicion. Alawites are concentrated in the northwestern provinces of Latakia and Tartus – where the killings have taken place – but there are Alawite villages near Homs in central Syria and in Lebanon and Turkey.
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Violent incidents have also been perpetrated against Christian, Druze and Shia minorities causing general mistrust of HTS assurances that the rights of all Syrians would be respected. HTS is a child of al-Qaeda and a sibling of Islamic State.
Interim Syrian president and HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (formerly Abu Mohammed al-Julani), has created the security forces by merging diverse militias into army and internal security units but has not imposed command and control. Consequently, pro-government fighters who suffered abuse under the Assads have allegedly taken revenge against Alawites.
Sharaa has called for accountability and formed a committee to investigate the killings, but these moves are unlikely to address minority concerns. The Alawite Islamic Council held the government responsible for the killings and called on the United Nations to protect the Alawite coastal communities.
While former regime allies Iran and Hizbullah have been blamed for instigating pro-Assad fighters to carry out attacks on security forces to destabilise the country, Sharaa has said Syria would not be dragged into civil conflict. He may not have the means to prevent this from happening.
Syrian opposition activist Labib al-Nahhas told Al-Jazeera that the violence was “a major setback” for post-Assad Syria. He said HTS – which holds all the portfolios in the interim cabinet – must establish “a strong national, unified front” consisting of a “new transitional government that is truly inclusive not [just] lip service”. HTS has promised such a government would be in place by March 1st but has failed to deliver.
Encouraged by Sharaa’s pledges to promote inclusivity and human rights, the United States, Britain, and the European Union lifted some sanctions imposed during the Assad era. Due to the killings, existing sanctions are likely to remain, hampering efforts to provide for Syrians, 90 per cent of whom live in poverty, and rebuild the war-ravaged country. Fearing violent spillover, on Sunday Jordan hosted senior officials from neighbouring Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon to discuss Syrian security, reconstruction, and refugees.
