Alawite demonstrations across Syria demand federalism and self-determination

Shafaq News – Latakia

Thousands of Syrians from the Alawite community held demonstrations on Sunday in several coastal cities, as well as in Homs and Hama, calling for political federalism and the right to self-determination.

Shafaq News correspondent reported that security forces moved into separate clashes after groups backing the Syrian government confronted demonstrators in Latakia. The incident was marked by the exchange of sectarian chants.

The protests followed a call by Sheikh Ghazal Ghazal, head of the Supreme Alawite Islamic Council in Syria and the diaspora, who urged Alawites across the country to stage peaceful demonstrations in support of political federalism and self-determination.

Samir Ali, a protester in Latakia, told Shafaq News that demonstrators mobilized to defend their rights and dignity and to oppose what he described as identity-based violations targeting the Alawite community.

Ali said hundreds of young Alawite men are detained without clear charges or judicial proceedings, while thousands have lost their jobs solely because of their sect, adding that the community faces “systematic marginalization, humiliation, and collective punishment under allegations of ties to the former government of Bashar al-Assad.”

Protesters also linked a recent bombing that struck a mosque in Homs to what they described as direct targeting of Alawites, including in places of worship, attributing the attack to hate speech and incitement directed against them.

During the demonstrations, participants called on the international community and the United Nations to protect Alawites, Druze, Kurds, and other Syrian groups, guarantee their constitutional rights, and stop what they described as abuses committed by extremist factions and elements within the Syrian government.