Sectarian and political violence has once again thrust Syria into mourning. Protests by the Alawite religious minority community, held in coastal towns and the central city of Homs, all regions with significant Alawite populations, were marred by deadly incidents on Sunday, December 28. Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets. At least three people were killed and 60 others injured in the coastal city of Latakia, according to the official Syrian news agency SANA.

Accounts of the events are still incomplete and contradictory. The Syrian authorities, now led by former jihadist leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, have blamed the violence on loyalists of ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad’s regime, claiming that they were armed and had attacked both security forces and civilians. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, meanwhile, reported that two of the victims had been killed by law enforcement officers as they dispersed a protest in the coastal city of Latakia. Clashes broke out between protesters and counter-protesters in Latakia, including beatings and stone-throwing. Shots were also fired into the air.

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