Alawites protest after Syria mosque bombing

Thousands of Syrian Alawites took to the streets in coastal and central parts of the country on Sunday to protest, two days after a mosque bombing that killed eight.

The attack, which took place in an Alawite area of Homs, was only the latest against the religious minority, which has been the target of several episodes of violence since the December 2024 fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, himself an Alawite.

Security forces intervened to break up clashes between demonstrators and supporters of Syria's new Islamist authorities, an AFP correspondent in the coastal city of Latakia saw.

Other clashes took place in the town of Jableh, another correspondent said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor also reporting violence in the city of Homs itself, with several injured.

"Why the killing? Why the assassination? Why the kidnapping? Why these random actions without any deterrent, accountability or oversight?" demanded Numeir Ramadan, a 48-year-old trader protesting in Latakia.

"Assad is gone, and we do not support Assad... Why this killing?"

Sunday's demonstration came after calls from prominent spiritual leader Ghazal Ghazal, head of the Islamic Alawite Council in Syria and Abroad, who on Saturday had urged people to "show the world that the Alawite community cannot be humiliated or marginalized".

"We do not want a civil war, we want political federalism. We do not want your terrorism. We want to determine our own destiny," he said, in a video message on Facebook.

Protesters carried pictures of Ghazal along with banners expressing support for him, while chanting calls for the new authorities  to allow a decentralised government authority and a degree of regional autonomy.

Placards also called for an end to "sectarian speech".

"Our first demand is federalism to stop the bloodshed, because Alawite blood is not cheap, and Syrian blood in general is not cheap. We are being killed because we are Alawites," Hadil Salha, a 40-year-old housewife said.

Most Syrians are Sunni Muslim, and the city of Homs -- where Friday's bombing took place -- is home to a Sunni majority but also has several areas that are predominantly Alawite, a community whose faith stems from Shiite Islam.

The community is otherwise mostly present across their coastal heartland in Latakia and Tartus provinces.

Since Assad's fall, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor and Homs province residents have reported kidnappings and killings targeting members of the minority community.

- Alawite massacres -

The country has also seen several bloody flare-ups of sectarian violence.

In March, Syria's coastal areas saw s massacre of Alawite civilians. Authorities accused armed Assad supporters of sparking the violence by attacking security forces.

A national commission of inquiry said at least 1,426 members of the minority were killed, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor put the toll at more than 1,700.

Late last month, thousands of people demonstrated on the coast to protest fresh attacks targeting Alawites in Homs and other regions.

Before and after the March bloodshed, authorities carried out a massive arrest campaign in predominantly Alawite areas, which are also former Assad strongholds.

On Sunday, protesters also demanded the release of detainees.

On Friday, Syrian state television reported the release of 70 detainees in Latakia "after it was proven that they were not involved in war crimes", saying more releases would follow.

Despite assurances from Damascus that all Syria's communities will be protected, the country's minorities remain wary of their future under the new Islamist authorities, who have so far rejected calls for federalism.