ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The leader of Syria’s Alawites called for a “unified demonstration” across Alawite-populated regions on Tuesday, demanding federalism, political decentralization, and an end to what he described as the “ethnic cleansing” of Alawites. The appeal follows reports from the community’s top religious leadership of attacks on Alawites in central Homs province the previous day.
The Supreme Islamic Alawite Council in Syria and Abroad released a video showing the community’s top leader, Ghazal Ghazal, calling for a “unified sit-in” on Tuesday in all regions where Alawites are present - namely the coastal Latakia and Tartus provinces, central Homs and Hama provinces, and the capital Damascus.
Alawites were urged to “hold a sit-in in their areas” and “convey their message to the international community,” demanding “federalism and political decentralization, an end to ethnic cleansing, killing, kidnapping, and captivity, and the release of [the community members] detained in prisons.”
The Council emphasized “documenting the sit-ins and recording all activities” further urging for support from Kurdish-majority northeast Syria (Rojava) and Druze-majority Suwayda province, in southern Syria.
The protest call comes as Syrian interim authorities had earlier on Monday extended a curfew in several Homs neighborhoods following unrest triggered by the killing of a couple a day before.
A man and his wife, reportedly from a Sunni Arab Bedouin tribe, were found dead in their home in Zaidel, south of Homs, on Sunday, which was followed by attacks on civilians and property, according to Najat Rochdi, the UN Deputy Special Envoy for Syria.
Rochdi noted that she was closely monitoring alarming developments, urging “the utmost need for calm to be restored, for protection of civilians, for upholding the rule of law, and for accountability for any perpetrators of violence.”
On Sunday, the Alawite Council issued an “urgent appeal” to the UN Security Council (UNSC) and the international community, reporting that “Alawite neighborhoods in the city of Homs had been subjected to a barbaric armed attack carried out by groups of Bedouins supported by elements of the de facto [interim] authorities."
“Unarmed civilians were terrorized by direct shootings, burning of homes and properties, destruction of shops, and cars set ablaze,” the Council said, warning that Alawite civilians have faced imminent danger for nearly a year.
The Council held the interim authorities in Damascus “fully responsible for the safety and security of Alawite civilians” and urged measures to “prevent further bloodshed” and “wider sectarian violence threatening Alawites and other minorities.”
Of note, the developments come as tensions had previously escalated in Syria’s Alawite-majority coastal region in March, when loyalists of ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad clashed with security forces aligned with the interim leadership.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported around 1,700 deaths, the majority Alawite civilians, with many casualties attributed to the new leadership or allied factions.
In a Sunday interview with Rudaw, SOHR head Rami Abdulrahman warned the Homs situation could turn sectarian. He reported that two young Alawite men had recently been killed, but "the Syrian authorities took no visible action.”
Some “are seeking to displace the Alawites from Homs,” Abdulrahman purported.