Thousands of people have protested in several cities across Syria after a video circulated showing an attack on an Alawite shrine in the north, a war monitor and witnesses say.
Syria’s new rulers said the video was “old” and that “unknown groups” were behind the attack. The “republication” of the video served to “incite strife,” a day after hundreds protested against it in Damascus Burning down a Christmas tree.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) monitor said “thousands of people” took to the streets on Wednesday with large demonstrations in the coastal towns of Tartous and Latakia, provinces that are the heartland of the Alawite minority where long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad was deposed is one of them.
SOHR also reported on protests in downtown Homs and Qardaha, al-Assad’s hometown.
Witnesses said there were demonstrations in Tartous, Latakia and nearby Jableh, with images showing large crowds on the streets and some people shouting slogans such as “Alawites, Sunnis, we want peace.”
State news agency SANA said police in central Homs imposed a curfew from 6:00 p.m. (3:00 p.m. GMT) to 8:00 a.m. (05:00 GMT) on Thursday, while authorities in Jableh and two other cities had also announced a nighttime curfew.
SOHR said the protests broke out after a video circulated on Wednesday showing “an attack by militants” on an important Alawite shrine in the Maysaloon district of Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city. It said five workers were killed and the shrine was set on fire.
SOHR chief Rami Abdel Rahman said the video was filmed earlier this month after opposition rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched a lightning offensive; took control of major cities, including Aleppo, on December 1; and overthrew al-Assad a week later.
“Yes to a free Syria”
However, the Interior Ministry said on its official Telegram account that the video dates back to the rebel offensive in Aleppo in late November and that the violence was carried out by unknown groups due to sectarian strife.
The ministry also said some members of the former regime attacked Interior Ministry forces in Syria’s coastal areas on Wednesday, killing and wounding some people.
Protester Ali Daoud said thousands took part in the demonstration in Jableh, adding: “We demand that those who attacked the shrine be held accountable.”
Images showed large crowds marching through the streets with the independence-era three-star rebel flag.
“No to burning holy sites and religious discrimination. No to sectarianism. Yes to a free Syria,” read one protest poster.
In the city of Latakia, protesters condemned “violations” against the Alawite community, said 30-year-old protester Ghidak Mayya.
“Right now … we are listening to calls for calm,” he said, warning that too much pressure on the community “could risk an explosion.”
Alaa, a 33-year-old Tartus resident and protester, expressed concern that the situation could worsen, saying that “a single drop of blood risks us slipping back into a very bad scenario.”
Al-Assad has long presented himself as a protector of minority groups in predominantly Sunni Muslim Syria.
Alawites fear a backlash against their community, both as a religious minority and because of their long-standing ties to al-Assad’s family.
On Tuesday, hundreds of demonstrators protested in Christian neighborhoods of Damascus against the burning of a Christmas tree near Hama in central Syria. The HTS promised to restore it in a timely manner.
The country’s new leaders have done this repeatedly promised to protect minority religious groups who fear that the former rebels now in control may try to impose a conservative form of government.
