Syrian Opposition Extends Hand to Assad's Alawites

The opposition Syrian National Council extended a hand Sunday to President Bashar al-Assad's Alawite community, warning of regime attempts to "drive a wedge" between religious groups.

"The regime has tried, since the beginning of the revolution, to fragment Syrian society and drive a wedge" between the different communities, the SNC said in a statement.

"The Alawites remain an important component of Syria, and will continue to enjoy the same rights as other citizens as we build one nation of Christians, Muslims, and other sects," it added.

The Alawite sect is an offshoot of Shiite Islam and the community, to which Assad belongs, represents only 12 percent of Syria's mostly Sunni population of 22 million people.

The SNC, an umbrella for opposition groups, charged that Assad's regime killed "innocent people from the two (Alawite and Sunni) communities and instilled fear among the Alawites, in an attempt to get them to help in quelling the revolution."

"Many Alawite activists have supported the uprising" against the regime since it broke out in March 2011, it said, even if the "majority" have been swayed by the regime.

The SNC argued that the first step towards ending sectarian strife is to topple Assad's regime, insisting that Alawites will continue to be an "essential element of Syria's cultural and ethnic fabric."

"The regime will not be successful in pitting us one against the other."

"We are determined to close national ranks and the first sign of this unity is to extend our hands to our Alawite brothers in order to build a country of nation governed by citizenship and the rule of law."