As Alawites mark one year since the massacres in Syria’s coastal regions, residents of Baniyas say fear persists, wounds remain unhealed and political demands unmet.
Massive wildfires that swept through Syria’s coastal forests in Latakia have been largely contained, but their impact—and the lessons learned—will be long-lasting.
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.”
When Suwayda’s protest movement began in August 2023, it met with echoes on the Syrian coast, where “a chorus of individual voices” openly criticized the regime from a region considered Assad’s base. But while Suwayda’s uprising continues, the voice of the coast has waned. Why?
Damascus’ Decree 3 of 2023 provides tax exemptions and loans for those whose property was damaged or destroyed by the February 6 earthquake, but does not take into account displaced property owners and rights-holders or areas outside regime control, writes lawyer Manhal Alkhaled.
After deeming Damascus and Reef Dimashq safe for return in 2019, Denmark is now reassessing the right of Syrians from Latakia and Tartus to stay in Denmark on the grounds it is safe for them to go back to Syria.
Extensive earthquake damage to residential buildings in Syria raises many questions about what structural and legal measures those affected should take to protect their property.
