Demonstrations take place two days after an attack on an Alawite mosque in the city of Homs that killed eight people and injured 18 others
Clashes broke out this Sunday in cities along the Syrian coast between protesters from the Alawite religious minority and counter-protesters, two days after a bomb attack hit an Alawite mosque in the city of Homs, killing eight people and injuring 18 others during prayers.
According to , at least three deaths and 60 injuries have already been recorded following the protests and clashes. The demonstrations were called by Ghazal Ghazal, head of the Alawite Islamic Supreme Council of Syria and the Diaspora, following Friday’s attack on the mosque.
During the anti-government demonstrations, which had a strong presence of security forces, slogans were chanted demanding a federal government system. Syria has been experiencing several waves of sectarian clashes since the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad in a rebel offensive in December 2014, which ended almost 14 years of civil war. The Assad family, which ruled Syria for several decades, belongs to the Alawite minority.
Thousands of protesters are gathered in the coastal cities of Latakia and Tartous, as well as other locations, and other agencies. Authorities say preliminary investigations indicate that explosive devices were planted inside the mosque in Homs, but they have not yet publicly identified any suspects in the attack. The victims’ funerals took place on Saturday.
A little-known group, calling itself Saraya Ansar al-Sunna, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement published on its Telegram channel, indicating that the attack targeted members of the Alawite sect, a branch of Shiite Islam that radical Islamists consider apostates.
