Cautious calm in Syria's Latakia after Alawites, Sunnis hold rival protests

A cautious calm prevailed in the Syrian coastal city of Latakia on Wednesday following scuffles between rival Sunni and Alawite protesters the previous day.

The city, which has a mixed population, has been a flashpoint of sectarian tension before. The deposed regime of former dictator Bashar al-Assad was dominated by members of the Alawite community, who form around 12 percent of the Syrian population.

It was replaced by a Sunni-led government after a rebel offensive ousted Assad in December 2024.

On Tuesday, Alawite protesters took to the streets of Latakia city following sectarian violence in the Syrian city of Homs, which was sparked by the murder of a Sunni Bedouin couple last Sunday, which was initially blamed on Alawites.

Armed Bedouin men rampaged through Alawite majority areas of Homs, attacking homes and setting fire to cars.

The Alawite protesters in Latakia called for an end to sectarian discrimination and for the withdrawal of government affiliated militias – some of whom had previously committed crimes against civilians – from the coastal areas.

More controversially, they also called for federalism in Syria as well as the release of the prisoners held in government jails.

While some members of Syrian minority communities have advocated for a federal system of government for Syria, the demand is not popular among the Sunni majority, who fear it could lead to the breakup of the country.

A spokesman for the Syrian government also said that the prisoners whose release the protesters demanded were members of the Assad regime accused of serious crimes against civilians.

Over 500,000 people were killed during Syria’s 14-year civil war, mostly at the hands of Assad regime forces.

Counter-protesters, mostly from Latakia’s Sunni community, chanted against the Alawite protesters, and there were incidents of violence between the two sides.

There were reports of mutual rock throwing, and the Interior Ministry said that one member of the security forces was seriously injured when Assad regime supporters opened fire.

Security forces separated the two sides in an effort to stop the clashes. One member of the government’s General Security Administration, Mohammed Haj Yousef, went viral on social media for remaining calm under the pressure of the situation.

Some protesters reportedly chanted sectarian slogans against him but he continued to protect them, according to Syrian media sources.

“We are in the stage of building a nation… we are there to protect the safety and security of all Syrians and their property without discrimination and we have no sectarianism,” he told The New Arab’s affiliate Syria TV.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Alawite Islamic Council in Syria and the Diaspora, which has taken an anti-government position supportive of the protests, called on Alawite protesters to return to their homes, saying that the “peaceful” protests had issued a “clear and strong” message.

Last March, government militias and their allies committed massacres against Alawite civilians in the coastal area, after Assad regime affiliated fighters attacked them. 1,426 people, mostly Alawite civilians, were killed according to a government tally.

The Syrian government recently began holding public trials for those accused of taking part in the violence.