Thousands of Alawites have fled to Lebanon following sectarian killings on the Syrian coast. Local residents are springing into action, while some fear a spillover of violence.
A tense calm hangs over Jableh, while sectarian tensions remain following extrajudicial killings and property destruction during confrontations between pro-Assad fighters and government forces in the diverse coastal city.
After two days of bloodshed that killed hundreds, Syria’s Ministry of Defense halted military operations on the coast against forces loyal to the deposed Assad regime on Saturday pending the removal of “unaffiliated forces” from the area.
Since the Assad regime fell, repeated local and international calls for the new government in Damascus to provide guarantees for Syria’s ethnic and religious minorities have sparked controversy and fueled hate speech.
As HTS-led security forces pursue former regime personnel in coastal areas, sectarian rhetoric circulates online, prompting locals to call for a distinction between “the Alawite sect and the Assadist sect.”
