Sectarian violence rocked the Syrian city of Homs again. Therefore, the authorities in a large part of the center they declared a curfew, which was valid until Monday afternoon, the DPA agency reported on Monday.
- The Syrian city of Homs was rocked by sectarian riots after the murder of the couple.
- After the murder, religiously motivated inscriptions were found in the victim’s house.
- Authorities imposed a curfew in the city center until Monday afternoon.
- The unrest sparked attacks on Alawite neighborhoods with physical attacks and damage.
- The violence caused 18 injuries, the police deployed security forces.
The riots were related to the murder of a married couple. The bodies of the couple were found on Sunday in their house in the Zajdál district of Homs. Inscriptions were sprayed on the walls, which the content testifies to the religious motive of the act, the Syrian Ministry of the Interior said.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), murder and graffiti provoked the anger of the relatives of the victims, as well as members of their Bani Khalid tribe, who subsequently attacked the predominantly Alawite neighborhoods of the city of Homs. Authorities therefore in these areas imposed a curfew that lasted until Monday afternoon.
According to SOHR armed groups penetrated Alawite-inhabited neighborhoods on motorbikes, they damaged several vehicles, shops and other property there and physically assaulted people. The official news agency SANA reported that the violence left 18 injured and that security forces were deployed in the city.
Since the ouster of longtime president Bashar Assad there have been several cases of sectarian violence in Syria, and this despite the promises of the interim president Ahmad Sara that the new government will protect the minorities. In December 2024, Shara led Sunni rebels in their blitzkrieg offensive against Assad’s army.
