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.
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.
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.
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?
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visited China for the first time in nearly 20 years this week, deepening ties between the two countries in the hopes of increased financial support that may not be forthcoming.
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.
Wildfires engulf Syria’s coasts for the second time this summer displacing as many as 25,000 people from affected areas.
For around five years, Judi Arash lived under siege in a bombed-out, encircled rebel-held area of northern Homs that, at one point, was restricted to just three square kilometers.As a respite, she threw herself into her job as a journalist, choosing to report on the conflict unfolding around her.
