DAMASCUS: According to state media, Syrian police have enforced an overnight curfew in the city of Homs following disturbances there associated with protests that locals claimed were organized by members of the Shia and Alawi minority groups.
According to several locals, the protests were connected to recent acts of brutality and pressure against members of the Alawi minority, a sect that has long been considered as loyal to former President Bashar al-Assad, who was overthrown by rebels on December 8.
Requests for comment on the curfew were not immediately answered by representatives of Syria’s new ruling government, which is headed by the previously Al Qaeda offshoot Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
According to state media, the curfew will be in effect for one night, from 6 p.m. local time until 8 a.m. on Thursday.
Minority religious organizations, who are afraid that the now-in-power former rebels may try to impose a conservative system of governance, have frequently pledged their support for the nation’s new leaders.
Small protests also happened in the city of Tartous and other places along or close to Syria’s coast, which is home to the majority of the Alawi minority.
The protests happened at the same time as an undated video of a fire inside an Aleppo, Alawi shrine, with armed men wandering around and posing close to human bodies became viral on social media.
On its official Telegram account, the interior ministry stated that the video was from the late November rebel attack on Aleppo and that the violence was committed by unidentified parties. It also stated that the person disseminating the video now seemed to be trying to foment sectarian conflict.
The ministry added that several people were killed and injured in Wednesday’s attack on interior ministry forces in Syria’s coastline region by some former regime members.
