Three dead in Alawite protests on Syrian coast, local officials say
Three people were killed on Sunday when protests in Syria’s Alawite heartland of Latakia spiraled into gunfire and other violence, according to the province’s media office.
Syria has been rocked by several episodes of sectarian bloodshed since longtime leader Bashar al-Assad, who hails from the Alawite minority, was ousted by an opposition offensive last year and replaced by a government led by Sunnis, who make up the majority in Syria.
Thousands of Alawite protesters gathered on Sunday in Azhari Square in Latakia city to demand a decentralized political system in Syria and the release of thousands of Alawite prisoners.
About two hours into the protest, gunshots rang out from an unidentified location, according to a Reuters reporter at the scene. Security forces then fired in the air and the protest descended into chaos, with demonstrators carrying wounded people away on foot.
A written statement from the Latakia province’s media office that was distributed to reporters said three people were killed and more than 40 people wounded. It did not specify if the casualties were all in Azhari Square or in other towns where protests were also taking place.
Syrian state news agency SANA reported that one member of the security forces was killed by gunfire from “armed remnants of the former regime” in Latakia. It said civilians and security personnel were wounded in gunfire by unknown assailants near Azhari Square.
Sunday’s rally had been called for by the head of the Supreme Alawite Islamic Council, Ghazal Ghazal. A similar protest in November lasted barely an hour before being confronted by a rival protest in support of Syria’s new government. Syrian security forces used gunfire to break up both.
Protesters on Sunday chanted: “We want federalism!” and, “The Syrian people are one!”
More than 1,000 Alawites were killed in March after a failed insurrection by al-Assad loyalists sparked revenge killings by government-affiliated forces.
Last week, eight people were killed when a bomb detonated at an Alawite mosque in the central city of Homs.
